Jan
16
Unconfirmed Rumor: Yanks reach agreement with Baldelli (UPDATE: No they don’t)
ByUpdate (11:23am): Cashman on the news: “That would be false.”
11:06am: Via Rocco Baldelli’s Facebook page, the Yankees have reached an agreement with the free agent outfielder. Joe wrote up the case for Baldelli earlier in the week, and of course it’ll all come down to his health. If he can stay on the field and produce in a platoon role, then there’s nothing not to like about this move.
We’re still looking for more confirmation on this, so don’t take it as gospel just yet. For all we know, that could be a fake page.



If true, I like it, though it’s a signing that definitely requires some foresight, as in “What do we do when he goes down?”…’cuz there’s a pretty good chance he’s going down. If they are keeping that in mind (obviously, they have to be) then I second the motion.
Well you have Gardner/Hoffmann/Baldelli for LF and bench.
You can sign another OF but only if they give Hoffmann back or make a trade and send him down. But they could sign Hairston- give them an OF option without clogging then bench because he would also be there backup IF.
Right. I am presuming Baldelli will platoon with Gardner and that this move might preclude Hoffmann from being kept on the 25-man (not sure). Therefore, I imagine that they need to be thinking ahead in terms of a backup plan (b/c this move suggests that they may not want Gardner playing every day).
Just look at the no-names you are tossing out as Yanks LF! And Granderson’s ‘brain cramps’ are going to haunt even worse than JD… esp without Melky for late inning LF guy… but the biggest haunting will come from Austin Jackson. Call ghostbusters !
You have to wonder about it since the Yankees have said they had 2 million left to spend.
Nice. He really should update his page a little more often, but whatevs. At least he has a picture up. *cough cough, Axisa*
Isn’t Baldelli a rabid Sox fan?
He’s a rabid “whoever pays me fan” more.
So was Phil Hughes.
Also, I want to say that it is Clay Buchholz, but I’m not totally sure of the current Red Sox starter that was once a Yankees fan.
I believe you are correct, Jamal.
nope. It was Lester.
Jon Lester was a Yankee fan? He grew up in Washington. And not DC!
That seems a little odd.
I swear I heard that somewhere from a reliable source around 2 yrs ago. Ill try to find it…
I wouldn’t call Calvin a reliable source.
Seriously, that’s the joke of the day.
Jesus too if I recall.
Yep, he was.
P.S. And based on the events of 2004, I’d say both of them were at some point.
Jesus was tempted by evil, but he repented.
ietcvm
sweeeet
ok. should be intriguing…i can see him fitting a good month in somewhere, but that’s about all i’m willing to expect of him
I would’ve preferred they wait on Damon’s price to continue falling. If they missed out on Baldelli by waiting for Damon, there were still other comparable options like Johnson and Tatis.
How the hell did you guys find that? Tip from a reader?
Yeah, someone sent it in.
Probably the same guy who made the fake page.
Actually, who ever it is has been working on this ruse a long ass time to throw in one false rumor now. Nice trolling.
Andy Kaufmanesque
actually, looking closer at that FB page, i’m not so sure about it. just doesn’t feel legit
It’s on Facebook, it has to be legit.
Yeah, I know. Hence the disclaimers.
why even bother with baldelli? there is no big upside. if there were, the sox, who signed him for a bag of chips, would have kept him.
though i dont agree with your sox argument, i agree with your overall point… i dont really get why everyone says baldelli is a “high upside” guy either
the highest obp of his career is 344, and that was in 80 at bats… it seems to me even if everything goes right for him in 2010 and he stays healthy (which is an astronomical if), we should expect a 270/330/450 line… its not horrible for a platoon LFer but its certainly not “high upside”, and again, thats an optimistic triple slash
sluggger, thx 4 the thoughtful response.
.270/.330/.450 is AWESOME for a platoon LF bat.
Take a gander at what your typical roleplayer puts up.
You ain’t getting Damon on a 1 year $1M deal.
Looks like a fake page.
If this is true, very nice scoop, Mike.
It’s not, he just added a Cashman update
I really do not want to sign Rocco Baldelli.
that sucks
I’m going to be peeved if Cashman doesn’t take my opinions into account.
Wow, Cash is quick, huh?
I heard he reads RAB, and posts under the name Bo, shhh
IETC
Cashman to the rescue!
come on cashman get rocco baldelli
hmmm….really RAB? just look at the freaking page…its fake as all get out.
..although i would not take Cash’s words as gospel either. i’m still under the impression that nick swisher is going to be the yankees 1st basemen.
he he
Thank Jesus this is false.
So happy that Yanks are not getting this guy…
*that facebook page looked so fake….
I say hold off and scoop up Damon for a nice discount… forget all these disasters and reclamation projects… Only quality for the Yanks
That page has about 3700 suckers on it.
LOL, ignorance is bliss
Ca$hmoney Trillionaire quote:
”We’re trying to assess our legitimate choices in the sandbox we’re playing in,”
Doesn’t he mean “Bandbox”?
/Gammons’d
nice 1!
Thank the good Lord this is false.
I cringed at the thought of Baldelli coming aboard.
[...] in the morning, RAB noticed a Facebook page, supposedly the Facebook page of Rocco Baldelli, which stated that the free agent [...]
What are they doing here? First Nick Johnson now Baldelli sign Pedro Martinez and we can put together an all disabled list team.
Note to Cashman, please sign Damon before it’s too late.
When will it be too late?
you mean the mets?
[...] 16, 2010 by Kevin Rozell River Ave. Blues reported earlier today that the Yankees have reached an agreement with the free agent outfielder Rocco [...]
[...] today, Mike Axisa at River Ave. Blues noticed that Rocco Baldelli’s Facebook page said that he had signed a deal with the Yankees. [...]
ROCCO USED TO KILL THE YANKS WHEN HE WAS A RAY ,HE NEEDS A CAN OF RED BULL BEFORE EACH GAME. ROCCO BALL!!!!!!
Mike, please let us know when Reed Johnson signs with the Yankees…that’s the guy we should get.
Reed Johnson is no Johnny Damon. Stop the nonsense with this platoon talk. The lefty bats way more than the righty anyway giving Gardner more bats than righty platoon player and Damon vs Gardner is not even worth wasting my breath on. Damon is cheap enough now, just sign him. PS Baldelli stinks, did nothing for Boston and will do nothing for NY. I’m also concerned we’re losing too much experience, remember the Yankees must perform in the playoffs and it’s not a good idea to have too many inexperienced players in key roles, ie Granderson, Nick Johnson, and now this inexperienced platoon. Damon’s a lousy fielder but solves many problems, hits leftys, hits in the clutch, helped the 1-2 punch at the top of the order, he makes sense now that he’s cheap.