Fan Confidence Poll: December 27th, 2010

December 27, 2010 by Mike Axisa 59 Comments

Season Record: 95-67 (859 RS, 693 RA, 98-64 Pythag. record), finished one game back in AL East, won Wild Card, lost in ALCS

Top stories from last week:

Andy Pettitte is still leaning towards retirement, but the Yankees haven’t moved on any other free agent pitchers. They monitored Brandon Webb’s situation, but he agreed to a deal with the Rangers. Brian Cashman said there’s a chance the team will open the season with its current pitching rotation.
Kansas City asked the Yanks for Jesus Montero, Eduardo Nunez, and some high ceiling pitchers for Zack Greinke.
In what has become an annual tradition, the Yanks were hit a luxury tax bill. They owe $18M for the 2010 season, their lowest since 2003.
The Yanks are unlikely to consider bringing Marcus Thames back, but they have shown some interest in Johnny Damon. They also had internal discussions about Manny Ramirez, but they’re not going to sign him.
CC Sabathia has lost some weight this offseason, and plans on losing more.
The Yanks gave two youngsters minor league contracts: lefty Steve Evarts and righty Leonel Vinas.

Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.

{democracy:130}

Rob NY

I dropped a 7 on the Yankees (same as right after Lee went to PHI) because that rotation still has Nova and ‘Serge’ in it. AJ is a crapshoot so that leaves us with an ace and a solid youngster. The everyday lineup is still very good albeit one year older but I could easily see this rating getting up to an 8 with another SP. It could be a 9 with some reversion to career norms for our lineup and a 9 if those things happen and Montero opens up in the Show and hits like a house on fire. Happy Snowday.
- David
  
  Very astute about “reversion to career norms”.
  I see:
  C – Expect some improvement over last year.
  1B – Expect significant improvement.
  2B – Can’t expect improvement.
  SS – Expect significant improvement, particularly if better rested during season.
  3B – Ditto.
  RF – Lucky to duplicate.
  CF – Expect improvement.
  LF – Expect improvement if hand healthy.
  DH – Maybe a push.
  - LarryM.,Fl.
    
    Nice summation of reasonable expectations but hwat is your take on starting pitcing.
    
    I give it an 8 because the Yanks will do something in ST or soon thereafter if it looks bleak/weak.
    
    Interesting what the Royals wanted from the Yanks and accepted from Brewers.
  - Gonzo
    
    Expecting a signifant improvement at 1b is a tough sell for me. I’ll expect improvement, but all those WAR graphs of 1b have tempered my expectation.
    
    Also, most players coming off wrist surgery don’t improve even when healthy. I’ll be happy with a matching result by flipping halves of the season for GGBG.
    - David
      
      Maybe agree with you on Gardner, but I expect a huge year from Tex, easily better than last year.
      
      I expect Burnett to be better. I expect Andy to return for about 15M. Would he throw away a chance at the Hall of Fame? Of course not.
      
      We also have lots of bullets left to fire in the form of $$$$$ and prospect depth that can be traded.
      
      Conservatively, an 8.
      - Gonzo
        
        Definitely expect bett from Tex. The WAR graphs for 1b made me temper expectations is all.
  - Rob NY
    
    That sums up what I meant by my comment. I expect a better year from Tex, Grandy, and A-Rod. Jeter may or may not be better, but he can’t be worse. I expect a healthy Jorge to be at least a little better than Berkman and Thames at DH. Martin/Montero should outperform (injured Jorge/ bad cervelli).
    
    I’d love to see a trade, but barring one I don’t like any of the free agents to really improve the team and don’t want to see a panic trade for a mediocre starter.
    - David
      
      Jeter can easily be better, particularly if he gets some rest. He played in 157 games last year, which is absurd for a shortstop of his age.
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

I give it an 8.
Reggie C.

6.

Pettitte’s leaning towards retirement. That much is certain. Cashman’s stillness is zen and all, and that’s cool given the roster’s inflexibility at key positions. However, the fan base demands a better rotation than currently stands. Having Mitre and Nova start the season cannot stand. Time to wake the fuck up Cash.
- http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.
  
  I can guarantee that there’s at least 10 or fifteen teams who would kill for the Yankees rotation.
  - Reggie C.
    
    Yankee standards of producing a championship contender year-in and out are higher than any other ball club. Why? B/c that’s what the organization and team leadership have spieled for over 10 years.
    
    Until Cashman or Hal Steinbrenner say the phrase: “gap year”, i’ll treat the team according to its historical standards.
    - nsalem
      
      Cashman is wide awake and I praise him for foregoing a knee jerk reaction to the inability to sign Lee. He is properly running an organization which is his job rather than pandering
      to the hissyfits of short sighted fans. We don’t need to return to the era of Wright and Pavano. Fans should exhibit patience, Cash should wait and see what Pettitte does (history says he will return)and then plan from that point. It’s off season so nothing is going to change in the next couple of weeks.
      - http://Yankeesblog Charles
        
        Sorry but Cashnan slept with thoughts of Lee dancing in his head while Epstien worked the hole field. Cash man was my-optic in his approach to free agency period. He shouldn’t have put all his eggs in the Lee basket. That hurt with other players out there and did not get Lee. No more will we are the Yankees come and take our money we want you. Watch out for Boston in the future Theo is kicking Brian to the curb
        
        Andy In Sunny Daytona
        
        What?
        
        Chris
        
        Who else could/should Cashman have pursued in FA? Crawford and Werth were significantly overpaid and while they would have been slight upgrades in the short term, they were bad signings and wouldn’t have helped in the long term.
        
        Jorge
        
        8. Too busy shoveling. It’s not even January. Lots of hot stove to still be lit. They will be there in the end.
        
        FIPster Doofus
        
        I thought working the hole field was Rex Ryan’s wife’s job.
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com bexarama
        
        First Name Only Male Handle Rule!
        
        Watch out for Boston in the future
        
        WTF is “Boston”
  - AJ
    
    Can we please stop comparing the Yankees to the 10-15 worst teams’ standards?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Wake up and do what? There’s nothing out there.
  - Chris
    
    Sign Pavano!
    - OldYanksFan
      
      Sign Andrew for $5m (as an incentive), Giambi and Barry Bonds.
      WE CAN’T JUST STAND STILL!!!
      
      /GeorgeSteinbrenner’d
http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

Fan confidence is the lowest it’s been since the start of the ’09 season. But we all know how ’09 ended, so it really can’t be that bad.
http://www.twitter.com/cemiami Carlos Echevarria

Happy New Year 2011…Best regards from Miami.

As for our beloved Bronx Bombers, let’s all keep the faith…yeah Beantown re-loaded, Lee went to Philly, looks like Andy is staying in Deer Park, the O’s are resurgent under Showalter, etc., but we have never been any lay down Sallies!!!!

LET’S GO YANKEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
- http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.
  
  I… I love you.
theyankeewarrior

7.

Cashman can make it an 8 with one more SP. I don’t care who it is, just someone better than Sergio Mitre.
- Slu
  
  This is exactly what I was going to type. Get out of my head!
- Chris
  
  just someone better than Sergio Mitre.
  
  That shouldn’t be too hard. I think Cashman is waiting for Pettitte to decide before he makes a move. There really isn’t a FA worth signing, so waiting another month (or more) isn’t a big deal.
futureman

Meh, not really all that impressed with Boston’s moves. Boston did sign great players but they’re marginal upgrades over last year’s squad. While the OF names sucked, they put up pretty improbably numbers and Beltre was awesome. Also, I think Pedroia’s foot injury could be a bigger problem than expected. Screws in a place with a lot of small bones can go wrong especially when the person with the injury is an idiot who re-injured himself because he was too impatient to heal.
- Gonzo
  
  I think the Sox improved by a good margin. However, the Yanks just need to make the playoffs.
  - http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig
    
    The main thing about the Sawx is that they can anticipate better health than last year in addition to the upgrades (“slight” upgrades if you prefer) over last year’s squad.
http://riveraveblues.com Rich

Maybe Pettitte will pull a Clemens and decide to come back after the all star break. That way at his age he should be healthy and stong for the playoff push—-just dreaming!!
http://mystiqueandaura.com Steve H

9.

Yankees have their best farm system in years (decades?), a GM who isn’t panicking and overspending on a guy like Soriano, and it’s December.
- Dalelama
  
  They don’t have even one sure fire non-pitching prospect who can play the field and no power arms.
  - Accent Shallow
    
    no power arms.
    
    All the three Bs boast nice fastballs. And say what you will about Nova, but he definitely brought the gas.
    - dalelama
      
      Unfortunately right now Nova isn’t a prospect he is our #4 starter who can’t get through the fifth inning. We don’t have a single prospect who could come and play the field and hit above .220.
  - http://mystiqueandaura.com Steve H
    
    It’s a top 10 farm system.
    - dalelama
      
      Without a single player who can step up successfully to the bigs with the possible exception of Montero.
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com bexarama
    
    No prospects are surefire, that’s why they’re prospects
Nick!

7, maybe should have been 6. CC’s great, Hughes will hopefully be more consistent. Tex might bounce back. Cano will probably regress but still be great. A-Rod hopefully will bump his OBP back up, Gardner will be awesome on defense and taking pitches (and will still be valuable even if his OBP drops). Swisher should be good again (he needs to start walking again when his average regresses). I like the Russell Martin signing. The farm system is great.

At the same time, the rotation has AJ, Nova, and Mitre in it, and Andy coming back looks less and less likely. The great pitching in our farm system is largely more than a year away from being ready. The veterans of this team aren’t getting any younger, especially Jeter and A-Rod. Granderson could go right back to being utterly abysmal vs. LHP and mediocre vs. RHP. Tex could very well not bounce back. Francisco Cervelli is not taking up residence on the sun yet.
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  Curtis Granderson vs. RHP:
  2010: .369
  Career: .380
  
  1. He was never mediocre vs. them.
  2. If anything, he’s due for an improvement against RHP.
  - Nick!
    
    He was pretty blah vs. RHP until August or so. I remember at one point around July he had around an .820 OPS, which doesn’t really cut it when you have a .500 OPS vs. LHP
    - http://mystiqueandaura.com Steve H
      
      Baseball is a game of peaks and valleys. No big deal if a guy with a track record of several years of performance struggles in a SSS in which he missed many games due to injury.
AJ

Speaking of Webb, the Rangers got a deal. 3MM for one year plus incentives? We spend more than that on mediocre relievers and bench players.
- http://mystiqueandaura.com Steve H
  
  3MM for a guy who has thrown 4 innings in the past 2 years, had a major shoulder injury and is throwing 82 MPH is not a great deal for anyone but the pitcher himself.
  - FIPster Doofus
    
    Spot on.
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    3MM for a guy who has thrown 4 innings in the past 2 years, had a major shoulder injury and is throwing 82 MPH is not a great deal for anyone but the pitcher himself.
    
    Italicized for emphasis.
- Teh Comp Pick
  
  This.
- FIPster Doofus
  
  Mediocre relievers and bench players > the current version of Brandon Webb
- Gonzo
  
  They paid 3mm for the right to pay him much more (up to 10mm in incentives) if healthy. It’s a steal for Webb alright.
http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig

I’m not mincing words…I voted a 5 for the current New York Yankees squad.

Yes, the offense is still good, but the pitching looks as if it could be a wreck. This rating could easily change depending on what other moves Cashman makes and what internal decisions are made before the season starts, but for right now, I have no more confidence in this team than I did the mid-2000 versions.

With all of that said, I could not be happier – at the moment – with the moves that Cashman didn’t make in the wake of losing Cliff Lee. Despite my lack of confidence in the Big League squad, my confidence in the Yankees organization, as a whole, remains high.
- Rob NY
  
  I have to disagree with your “Pitching Staff is a wreck” comment. No staff led by Sabathia and Hughes is a “wreck”. It has a few holes, but they can be plugged up. 5 is a bit harsh IMHO.
  - Jimmy McNulty
    
    Yes, it has a “few” holes. A “few” being three. The rotation has five slots, usually there’s seven or eight pitchers who frequently make starts for the team. The Yankees have two pitchers to fill those slots. A “wreck” is an understatement.
  - http://www.bronxbombersreport.com Craig
    
    “Could” be a wreck. Not necessarily “is” or “will be” a wreck. I have zero worries about CC, but everyone is acting as if Phil Hughes is going to take a significant step forward in 2011. Who knows what we’ll really get? I expect him to be solid, but solid could be 13-8 with a 4.00 ERA – nothing to cry about, but still not No. 2 numbers. Doubts surrounding the remainder of the current staff should be self-explanatory.
- OMG Bagels!
  
  I gave it a 5 too. But during a good season I’m normally between a 7 and 9. I’m giving a 5 with Andy retiring. With Andy coming back, I’d go up to a 6 or 7. But I, too, am glad Cashman didn’t make many moves.
Dalelama

I gave them a six…assuming Andy doesn’t come back…our only hope is Arod returns to his old form or a ninja trade…Derek’s bat speed is slowing…the league is figuring out Gardner can’t hurt you if you throw him strikes…after CC and Hughes the rotation is nothing but mediocre 5 inning pitchers who will burn out the pen. Will be thankful to squeak out a wild card berth.
Beamish

Still an 8…but Andy retiring (at least that is how he is leaning) does make that a very slim 8, maybe even 7.9

I can accept Nova as the 5th starter…but as the 4th it is not the most confidence inspiring option. However, I also do not want to see them execute some panicky trade just because of it. I would sooner see them hand the ball to Mitre every 5 days rather than make a bad trade because they felt “forced” into it.

They will just have to plan on winning more games 8-6 than 3-1.
Jimmy McNulty

Five. The rotation sucks and the team still has a few bad contracts on their hands. A team with the Yankees payroll should never be in position where they “just need to make the playoffs,” that’s fucking stupid. More often than not, teams with shitty staffs usually don’t end up winning the World Series. If you’re trying to suggest that Boston/Philly isn’t the odds on favorite to win the World Series, you’re out of your mind. The one saving grace is that the GM isn’t panicking and making trades and overspending on a vet.