That said, I won’t touch Nick with a ten foot pole. If he was a fifth outfielder or a utiltiy infielder it would be one thing, but to depend on Nick is placing your hopes on one very leaky vessel. This guy is a magnet for injuries both large and small, he can injure himself putting pine tar on a bat. There was an article about Nick last summer in one of the Washington papers and the injury he suffered left in doubt his ability to ever be an effective major league player again.

Why risk it, the payoff isn’t worth it. A black cloud hangs over Nick’s head. Let’s face it, the Yankees have seen the “Bad Moon Rising” much too frequently the last few years to take a chance.

I like Nick, so it gives me no pleasure to give him a thumbs-down.

If I’m Brian Cashman, I’m not calling Jim Bowden and asking for Nick Johnson. I’m asking for Dmitri Young.

Nick Johnson is a better hitter, a better lefty hitter, a better defensive first baseman, and five years younger. Everything about the two players says that if you have both, you want Nick Johnson… which is precisely why I’d want Young. We don’t need a stud at first base, just someone who will outperform the Giambi/Damon/Matsui/Duncan/Betemit/Miranda group of has-beens and never-weres, and considering that our lineup is heavy with lefty hitters, adding Nick’s lefty bat actually makes our lineup considerably more unbalanced than it already is.

Dmitri has the advantage of being a) a switchhitter and b) costing considerably less in prospects than Nick would. If I’m Brian Cashman and Jim Bowden asks for Ian Kennedy for Nick Johnson, I’d ask what it would cost to take Young instead.

Trading with Bowden is a joke.

The first guy he’d ask for is Chamberlain. Second Hughes.

Do we have any bad seeds we could give him? Bowden loves the bad seed. Dukes, Milledge, Dmitri. We have to have a head case somwhere right?

you flipped these. he is mid-pack in ZR, which is the more important number.

the data is here:

http://www.insidethebook.com/e.....003_mid07/

You are actually correct in that his numbers dipped (to about average) in 2006. but he was excellent in 2004 and 2005, and is still above average over the 2003-2006 sample.

these guys know a hell of a lot more about baseball than i do, and i am pretty sure they know a lot more than you do, no matter how many decades you have been watching the game. this is their livelihood, and they are considered authorities in the field of evaluating defense.

so, i am going to go with what these guys think, instead of the opinion you formed because he once made 2 errors in one inning against the Mets (which by the way, never even happened).

Careful, Mike A. might demand some more respect from you as well ;-0.

Careful, Mike might demand some more respect from you as well ;-0.