Open Thread: Merry Tex-mas
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The Yankees have already given their fans three of the best Christmas presents anyone could ask for, so whatever Santa brings this year is just icing on the cake.
Baseball news is going to be pretty nonexistent the rest of the day, so go and spend time with family and friends. Eat some good food, sit around in gay Christmas sweaters, go caroling, get into a snowball fight with those bastard kids down the street (if there’s snow where you live). Go do whatever it is you this time of year, and forget all about the Yankees for a few hours. Your blood pressure will thank you.
Happy Holidays to you and yours from the three of us here at RAB. Be safe, and may Mo watch over you.
If you need to talk baseball, or anything really, do it here. Just be nice.
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I want Andy back. I dont get letting him go- seems like the rotation could have similar problems at the back end that they did last year.
Didn’t the rotation have problems from beginning to front last year with the exception of Moose?
Good point. Glad to see I got a response, thought it would be just me- serves me right for being Jewish on Christmas eve.
Hasn’t Hanukkah started yet? I thought they lite the minora the other day. The largest one in the world or what have you.
Yeah, it is, but because it is 8 nights long, it isnt the type of holiday where you spend all your time with family.
Yeah. Well have a happy week. And lets get Dandy Andy. My thoughts are below.
You too, happy holidays.
hahahaha that gay picture made me giggle.
D Ward answered my questions on his first video blog here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhOyp4LgPzk
Funny picture
http://www.yardbarker.com/m/47.....naut27.jpg
Hopefully dandy Andy comes back and pitches us 200 representable innings. With he, cc and wang we are looking at 600 innings and hopefully a healthy 170ish from AJ. People need to remember how big Andy Pettitte is to the team because whether he is lights out or not, he is a real innings eater.
And oh yeah, great pictures Mike. Have a very good Christmas.
That’s a mighty nice sweater you found there, Mike.
I know Andy’s been a Yankee forever – not withstanding the stint in Houston, of course – and the sentimental vote is to have him return for one more season to help open the new stadium. However, at this point, I’d rather see the Yankees cut their ties with him. At this point I’d like to see the fifth starter role filled with the young guys – Chamberlain, Hughes, Aceves, etc.
I think it is more than sentiment- Joba needs to be the 5th guy due to innings limits, so we need a 4th starter. Having Andy immediately gives us the depth in our rotation necessary to be a team built on pitching, because at worst he will give you league average pitching for 200 innings, something tht is more of a crapshoot from Hughes/Aceves.
Wouldn’t Joba already be in the rotation? He wouldn’t be the 5th guy. I would love to see Hughes as the 5th starter though.
CC/Wang/Joba/Burnett/Hughes
Joba NEEDS to be the #5 starter because he has an inning limit of about 150, and so does Hughes actually. Andy gives the rotation the depth it needs – having Hughes as your #6 starter is a very good thing.
Joba is the #5 man in position only…this way he can be skipped every now and then and not be pressed above his inning limits. Actually he would be rated as a #2 at the least. CC and Joba have the best stuff on the team, Joba isn’t considered a youngster anymore…he is a bonafide starter. So, we would only have one youngster…Phil (without Andy).
Andy would be a big help, as you and others pointed out; “Someone will miss some starts”…ergo, up steps Phil. Phil in AAA all year is a wast of his growth and ability to help the team. Without Andy, Phil/Aceves/Coke is the starter…which ever one wins the job in ST.
No, I don’t have a life. Just kidding, with this weather we are not going home (Michigan). So, you guys are stuck with me. Good luck, happy holidays and (for any Irishmen out there) Marry Christmas. 27/09.
Joba is still a youngster in regards to his inning limit, and that he still has to show that he can pitch effective as a starter in the major leagues for a full season – I have a lot of faith in the kid but he is not a proven commodity as a starter yet. That’s why I think its best to stagger the rotation and bring up Phil in 2010 – I mean, the kid is just 22 years old. I would hardly call letting one of your best prospects have a full year of AAA (w/ cameos in the big as the #6 starter) being a waste of his ability.
Joba is 23, but that’s beyond the point…the point is, he started and did very well until he got hurt. He HAS proven he is a starter. granted he has inning limits, but I don’t think one would say he is one of the young guns anymore.
My contention is; he so dominates the AAA hitters, he is likely to fall into bad habits…like not throwing the pitches he has been working on. One dominates and then gets lazy, because it is so easy, one comes into the show with the same outlook and gets shelled. Even in his 2-3 starts in the show (Sept) he pitched very well.
If Andy comes back, that’s alright with me…someone will get cut down.
If Andy doesn’t come back, Phil, and the rest of the guys fight it out in ST.
Sentimentally, I want Andy back…realistically, not so much. 27/09.
Uhh…Chamberlain has already been identified as a starter for us. I’d rather see Andy come back, he’s very useful as a lefty innings eater, and give Hughes a full year in AAA and also as our #6 starter for when somebody inevitably goes on the DL or maybe use him for a double header if we don’t go with the longman (Giese or Aceves). Since we already have one youngster starting for us in Joba, I’d rather stagger the youth movement and put Hughes into the rotation in 2010. By then, both Hughes and Joba should be good for 180+ innings, so we won’t need Pettitte.
Oh guys, did Tex get an opt out?
Nope, not as far as I know. He did get a full NTC.
I didnt think so. Full no trade clause, but no opt out.
“The agreement, which is subject to a physical, includes a signing bonus of about $5 million paid out over the first three years of the contract, no opt-out clause and a complete no-trade provision, the sources said.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3790141
I am so fired up about my new look Yankees. I live in Waterford, CT, the midway point on I95 between Fenway and the stadium. So the community is split between Sox fans and Yanks fans. My wife (Sox fan) called me at work yesterday at about 1:00 and said WEEI Boston Sports radio was reporting that the Sox had signed Tex. Two hours later I was driving home listening to ESPN Radio and they interupted Max Kellerman’s show to announce breaking news. I expected that the announcement would be Tex to the Sox (hoping to hear he was going to the Nats instead). When Olney said he was going be a Yankee. I was shocked. I thought they were in it just to tweak the Sox. The Red Sox fans around me are totally stunned. I am so happy. He has the potential to be the next Don Mattingly.
Everybody remember to wish Mo’s son a Happy Birthday tomorrow!! I mean we do celebrate Mo’s son birthday all around the world every 25th of Dec….
Very good BBA! Made me think and then laugh. 27/09.
Generally I get annoyed when you say 27/09 but now I am rejoicing!
Just for the hell of it…what bothers you about 27/09?
I know a few have mentioned that it was…different (being kind to myself). Many sign-ins etc., bother me too. Some take up more room then the post, but who cares…as posted before it’s Tex-mas! 27/09.
Gay? Classy, guys.
“Don we now our gay apparel” gay, not “gay” gay.
Good thing he didn’t say gay watermelon or we might have two offended groups.
Sheesh, here’s a perfect example of ESPN totally skewing what the Yankees are doing. They have a poll right now asing:
What is the best direction the Yankees should have taken?
A. Emphasize young talent and player development
B. Sign high-priced free agents
Hello?!?!? We’re doing both, assholes! Its not one or the other, gimme a break. Just take a look at the pitching talent in our minor league clubs (not to mention guys like Joba, Cano or Bruney), or our decision to not go after Santana and give up top prospects.
We still even have draft picks in every round but one in the upcoming draft.
As a native of New Britain, CT (original home of Boston’s AA, and Clemens’ AA stint) I can attest for ESPN. They are located in Bristol, CT, which coincidentally was also the home of a Boston farm team back in the day. Makes more sense than having the AAA team in Trenton, NJ though. How stupid was that?
The coverage had been really lame from so many directions. We are replacing a bunch of expensive guys and aren’t awarding any deals bigger than the deals being replaced other than the fact we are commiting to a lot of years up front.
I doubt Tex and Swisher do more than Abreu and Giambi and yet we save almost 15 mil on those two vs last year.
Moose, Pettite and Pavano combined to made about what CC and Becket make.
Even in NY half the coverage is from people who can’t handle basic math…..
Not to mention the writers…what a nightmare… everyone is so upset that Cashman didn’t call them personally to let them know he wanted Tex before he signed him. “He lied to me, wahhh” “I can never trust him again”
I don’t know if there is a single sportswriter in this city that understands the value of making plans that the other teams and hence the fans do not know about until they happen.
If anyone could write instead of barfing up news they read or hear elsewhere they wouldn’t need to have the stories spoonfed to them by the teams.
Classic RSPN
Notice to ESPN: They’re not mutually exclusive.
Hey, Moish, When (and why) did you leave MVN?
A freilichen Chanukah!
Beginning of September, to start law school, didnt have the time. A freilichin Chanukah to you too!
Law School?!
Great. I’ll shoot you an email. Thinking of Law School myself, and i wouldn’t mind getting some pointers. . .
Ata tzarich lalechet lemo@yahoo.com?
Sorry about all this encoding, but many people are upset when their email address is posted as they’re afraid from spammers. . .
Naah, its yagottagotomo1 at aol.com
Great, bro. Thanks a mil. We’ll be in touch. . .
Ha Haaaaaaaaaa!!!
Add Oneli Perez to the list of Yankees pitchers that the Padres have signed. . .
Here’s a non-sequitor.
Question: Why does Matt Carson, he of above average speed and strong arm appear to get zero respect?
Matt is 26 years old, until this year he had not shown much of anything. Oh, a couple times he did well, then…poof! 2008 was a good year for him, from what I saw of him; I would say he had his smi-breakout year in 2008, and was moved up. Now, if he can have back to back (which he never has had) break out years…one never knows. By the way, he does get respect…from those that count, the big brass. 27/09.
hes on the athletics now
I had not heard that. Thanks! At his age, it’s probably for the best. Matt…good luck guy! 27/09.
anyone know when the press conference for Teixeira will be?
Yankees offices are closed until the new year, so no real Yankee news until next year!
But Cashman’s phone is never off!
Maybe for Christmas?!?!? 27/09.
Joey H, you are into line-ups and rotations, what do you think of this;
Johnny-LF
Jeter-SS
Tex-1st
A-Rod-3rd
Matsui-DH
Posada-C
Cano-2nd
Swisher-RF
Brett-CF
Rotation;
CC
CMW
AJ
Joba
Phil
Or would you go with;
A-Rod
Tex
And;
CC
CMW
AJ
Andy
Joba
Any thoughts on the bench.
Old Ranger,
You want Melky or Nady as the fourth OF with the lineup you posted? I would imagine Nady. I am not the the biggest Nady fan. His reality will be our disappointment. There seems to be enough intrigue out there to produce a nice return.
*if traded*
Heh, it seems that Brian Cashman – and not Mr. Gorilla Suit – was the one who held firm, and called Scott Boras’ bluff:
Oh, and there’s this gem from Murray Chass: http://www.murraychass.com/?p=385
Heh, those last two lines obviously weren’t part of the Chass article, that’s just some shoddy proofreading by yours truly.
Doesn’t look like the Red Sox Nation washer is finished any time soon. It’s going to be stuck on SPIN CYCLE for awhile…
I knew that was a bad joke and I still had to do it. I apologize.
He wanted to be a yank the whole time. I woul not go so far as to say that the suits in bean town got played, but it must have been frustrating that Teix wanted nothing to do with their organization.
They did get played, in my opinion. The e-mail they publicly released was an attempt to basically scream atop whatever soapbox that they were calling Scott Boras’ bluff. Obviously, even if Boras was lying about higher offers at that point in time when the e-mail was released, they got played in the end.
They wanted to pound their respective chests in glory that they stood up to Scott Boras, and now they fell flat on their fucking faces. Hell, even Buster Olney said that he’s talked to several GM’s in MLB that are saying that the Red Sox have become the butt of jokes over this. They tried to call Scott Boras’ bluff and got played in the end, quite publicly.
Now that the NYY just paid $27 million in lux tax for 2008, does anyone know what their lux tax situation will now be with the new stadium? It should mitigate the lux tax for 2009. I’m sure somebody will complain about that as well.
I believe I read in some earlier posts it does not effect the luxury tax, it is what it is. It effects the revenue sharing. Don’t really have the details, someone correct me if I’m wrong
Yes. Revenue sharing. Not sure of the details, but it definitely reduces the revenue sharing expenditure on their balance sheet.
Merry Christmas ! Appreciate what you guys do here. Definitely most awesome Yankee blog Ive eve been on. Keep up the good work guys. Awesome job