Comments on: Once last Johan Santana gasp

By: beezr

beezr — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:27:24 +0000

Massorotti has a similar article about Buccolz today in the Boston Herald. He compares him to Santana and says he has to start producing because he could have been traded for Santana. Both of these writers are setting up a theme they can go back to all year when the young pitchers struggle and/or Santana excels. For a beat writer, it’s just too good/easy a story to pass up. But really, the development of young a player and people’s judgments of that development shouldn’t be effected by a trade between two unrelated teams.

By: steve (different one)

steve (different one) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:01:37 +0000

i hear you.

i guess i’m just not worried about Pettitte. he is chock full of veterany goodness, and i have very little fear that he won’t throw close to 200 innings this year. the back thing doesn’t worry me.

now, if he had elbow or shoulder pain i’d be out on the ledge.

By: Count Zero

Count Zero — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:18:13 +0000

I’m not saying he won’t give us 200…just that I’d rather not be counting on it. As in — the only starters that even have a chance to give us 200 are Wang and Pettitte counting on it. If one of those guys doesn’t give us 200 or very near to it, our BP is in for a hell of a long year.

This whole thing with the back spasms makes me nervous…

By: Whitey14

Whitey14 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:26:33 +0000

Steve you couldn’t be more right. Although it was embarassing for the Sox to miss the playoffs in 2006, it was soon forgotten in 2007. I’d be happy to have them win the World Series every other year for awhile.

I’ll be honest, regardless of what the prognoticators have said, this Sox team doesn’t feel really good to me. I think 90-92 wins will win the East and that either ny or Bos will be sitting home in October.

By: steve (different one)

steve (different one) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:19:38 +0000

why shouldn’t they count on 200 innings from Pettitte?

By: Count Zero

Count Zero — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:49:30 +0000

We haven’t heard the last of this…by a long shot, unfortunately.

I feel confident we did the right thing, as does just anybody with sense. I just wish we weren’t counting on Moose to put up an ERA under 5, and on Andy to give us 200. But I’m more than willing to miss the playoffs one season to keep the big three.

By: pete c.

pete c. — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:21:15 +0000

Starting this season with these kids like their doing, is a big gamble. Nobodies denieing that. But these guy’s gotta get their feet wet sometime, and nows as good a time as any. Hopefully a little pain now will pay off in the not to distant future.

By: yankeesdaily.com » Blog Archive » Pride of the Yankees 3/31/08 The Bloggers

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:33:44 +0000

[...] Once last Johan Santana gasp - Ben K. - River Ave. Blues [...]

By: NC Saint

NC Saint — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:30:48 +0000

“As we head into Opening Day, hopefully this will be the end of the Johan Santana speculation.”

Would that it were so, but you’re dreaming. A number of MSM goons have been trying to pretend that the relative success of Santana and Hughes this year will be decisive in determining whether the trade should have been made, and perhaps will even serve as a referendum on Cashman. This is, of course, ludicrous, as even the Steinbrenners understand, but it makes sense to your average sports reader, and it’s a fun narrative to write about.

I am as big a Hughes believer as anyone, but if he doesn’t struggle at times in his first full (well, almost full) year, it will be a miracle. And while no pitcher is ever guarunteed to have a great year, if you take one of the best pitchers on the planet and send him down to face AAAA lineups, he’s got a solid chance of putting up some impressive numbers.

There will be weeks, maybe months this season when Santana has just done some great work and Hughes hasn’t. If we don’t see some poorly-argued criticisms of the trade-that-wasn’t from the NY dailies and the ESPN goons, I will be absolutely shocked.

By: whozat

whozat — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:09:27 +0000

Also…haven’t multiple sites, including this one, shown that all they really need from Ian, Moose, Phil and Joba (when starting) is league average performance?

Sure…they’ll take their lumps. But no realistic fan is expecting much more than an ERA between 4 and 4.5 for Phil and Joba, and one between 4.5 and 5 for Ian and Moose. And such a performance would _likely_ get the Yanks into the playoffs. At that point, I’ll take my chances with Phil and Joba in my playoff rotation along with Andy and Wang.