Feb
20
Fan Confidence Poll: February 20th, 2012
By2011 Record: 97-65 (855 RS, 657 RA, 102-60 pythag. record), won AL East, lost to Tigers in ALDS
Top stories from last week:
- After a week’s worth of rumors, the Yankees agreed to trade A.J. Burnett to the Pirates for $13M in salary relief and minor leaguers Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones. The deal became official yesterday.
- Johnny Damon was off the table, so the Yankees agreed to sign Raul Ibanez for $1.1M to serve as their left-handed DH. He still has to pass his physical.
- Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training yesterday, and the position players will follow on Friday. Brian Cashman met with reporters after arriving in Tampa, and said his divorce and stalker won’t interfere with his job, among other things.
- Both Frankie Cervelli (concussion) and Alex Rodriguez (knee) are 100% heading into Spring Training. Joba Chamberlain will get on a full mound as part of his Tommy John surgery rehab for the first time next week.
- Hideki Okajima failed his physical and will not be in camp. The Yankees signed Clay Rapada to a minor league deal to replenish their left-handed relief depth. The Athletics surprisingly signed Yoenis Cespedes, and the Yankees have “serious interest” in Jorge Soler.
- Manny Banuelos, Gary Sanchez, Dellin Betances, and Mason Williams all cracked Kevin Goldstein’s Top 101 Prospects List. Banuelos topped my Preseason Top 30 Prospects List. Rafael DePaula still doesn’t have a visa.
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 interactive Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.
Given the team's current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?
41 Comments»
RAB Info
The Founders
Mike Axisa, Ben Kabak, Joe Pawlikowski
Editor-In-Chief
Mike Axisa Archives | Email
Managing Editors
Ben Kabak Archives | E-mail
Joe Pawlikowski Archives | E-mail
Contributing Editors
Larry Koestler (Archives)
Moshe Mandel (Archives)
Eric Schultz (Archives)
Weekend Writers
Hannah Ehrlich (Archives)
Matthew Warden (Archives)
Special Contributor
J.R. O'Grady (Archives)
Technical Consultant
Jay Gordon
Subscribe to RAB by RSS
Follow @RiverAveBlues
Search RAB
Loading
Yankees News from YESNetwork.com
- Brian Cashman: Mark Teixeira could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday
- Brian Cashman speaks to media about injured Yankees pitchers
- Alberto Gonzalez clears waivers, will report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
- Seattle Mariners option Jesus Montero to Triple-A
- Thriving with the Yankees, Vernon Wells fulfilling his father's dream
- Kuroda leaves early as Orioles win rubber game
- New York City Football Club names Claudio Reyna Director of Football
- Yankees, Manchester City to own NYC MLS team
- Yankees, Manchester City announce NYC MLS team
- New York Yankees fall to Baltimore Orioles on Nate McLouth's homer in the 10th
Banner Design By
The Tyler Austin Watch
-Paying 20 million so AJ can pitch for Pittsburgh.
-Diego and Exicardo (household names) in return.
-Raul Ibanez (yawn)
-CC 10 lbs down, Pineda 10 lbs up (no apparent connection)
-Cashman’s personal life just weird
-Seattle raving about their new catcher after BP
I vote 7. Can’t wait for the season to start.
10 because pitchers and catchers reported. Everyone’s confidence should be a 10 at the beginning of ST.
“Everyone’s confidence should be a 10 at the beginning of ST.”
Why? Have the Yankees found the fountain of youth in Ft. Lauderdale to cure the aging, overpaid left side of the infield?
Ft. Lauderdale? Are you living in the 80′s?
“I give the team a 8. Steve Kemp should do wonders for this lineup.”
I kid. Honest mistake, I’m sure.
Hank & Hal are having the Fountain of Youth bottled and shipped from Ft Lauderdale to Legends Field, using Raymond James as a storage bin. Theyre gonna sneak it over the concourse 30 gallons at a time and pour it on Alex’s knee, Jeters haircut (resisting the urge to make a Valtrex joke here), Joba’s TJS elbow, Ibanez’ soul patch, and just douche the rest allllll over Zombie Chavez. Mo, as always, is immune.
The Commissioners office could not be reached for questioning, too busy chasing Alex around with a deck of cards and blakc chips attached to a string like a carrot.
Just picked the first location in FL that came to mind. Could have said Orlando, Tampa, Miami, or Okeechobee. No need for correction.
I voted my confidence level at 9. I have been at this level of confidence since the Pineda and the Montero trade. AJ’s trade did not elevate my confidence because I belived his presence on the team was a neutral win/loss factor. Thou, I did believe his presence may have affected the chemistry in some respects.
My biggest concern will be the health of the team and when injuries will occur and to whom. You can replace Jeter and Arod for a short while but Cano and rotation guys would be difficult.
I say an 8. The Yankees have the best top-to-bottom pitching in the AL, and the best rotation in the division outside of maybe Tampa.
Potential great, but NYY ro not to be rated above at least 5 others–CC (true ace), Nova (Soph w/ much to prove), Pineda (Soph coming off weak second-half possessing no 3rd pitch), Kuroda (Solid vet, but AL East a different animal than NL West), Hughes (Mystery man)/Garcia (Solid vet w/ little margin for error). I take Angels, Rays, Red Sox & Rangers over NYY–today!
I can see the other three, but Red Sox?Lol. Who’s even in their starting rotation?
He said best top to bottom pitching, and I have to agree with him. When you factor in the bullpens, I think the Yankees have arguably the best overall pitching in the AL.
Not just rotation, rotation and bullpen. The Rangers did have the better bullpen until they moved Feliz into the rotation. Otherwise the Yankees can make any game a 7 inning game. Soriano, D-Rob, and Mo are(can be) lights out.
I voted an 8. A 9 means, to me, the team and it’s process has almost no room for improvement, and a 10 is reserved strictly for World Series wins and the 1998 team.
So an 8 is pretty darn good.
2012 will come down to ARod and Pineda. They will win 97 games again without a healthy/productive ARod. Will Pineda be lights out? Or just show signs of dominance as still developing?
I voted only 7 because of the Yanks’ relative frugality. The Pineda trade may be OK, but a better option would have been to keep Montero and sign Darvish. That’s what the old Yanks might have done. The siging of Ibanez is OK for the price. Again, that’s a bargain basement way to fill the DH spot.
Old Yankees from what era? The era that would have traded for Rick Rhoden? Signed Andy Hawkins? Put him behind Whitey Ford? Lefty Gomez? Signed Jose Contreras? So confused.
No, the old Yankees would have traded Montero for a washed up veteran and thrown $500 million at Pujols/Prince/Wilson/Pick A Free Agent Name to DH. Pineda is 23 with lights out stuff, solid frame, and the willingness to get better. Montero was a below average catcher that would have been forced to leave the position and become a 1B or DH or RF.
“Montero was a below average catcher that would have been forced to leave the position and become a 1B or DH or RF.”
Not even. If Montero could’ve played RF, he’d still be here. Gene Michael said Montero could never play the OF b/c “he runs like me”.
I know. I was referring to the easiest positions to move too. The M’s will run into what the Twins have with Mauer. A catcher who can hit, can no longer catch, but can’t play anywhere else.
“Montero was a below average catcher that would have been forced to leave the position and become a 1B or DH or RF.”
Would that have been a bad thing?
Project to 2015, you would have had a kid who can’t play catcher, but can hit. You have older guys in A-Rod and Tex who need days off in the DH spot. Even worse, A-Rod might be a full time DH by 2015. So now you have a massive bat with no position.
Resolving the AJ issue and not signing Damon has pushed me from 7 to 8.
The old Yankees from 82-93 were doing things like that. They had to move Burnett. A 23 yr old fireballer in Pineda for Montero is worth the risk. Seems like a smart deal. I’m feeling a 7 in the poll. Not sold on Ibanez to be honest. Good pitching stops good hitting just watch playoffs from last year.
Good pitching stops good hitting just watch playoffs from last year.
I think we watched different playoffs. Last year was all about offense.
Probably because of the lack of good pitching.
Agreed. And I don’t like this offense.
It was the #2 offense in MLB last year and the only difference this year is Posada has been replaced with Ibanez (or Branyan).
What’s not to like?
What’s not to like?
—————
Maybe he doesn’t like it going forward
Whatever. So find another team to complain about.
We’ll go up to a 9 from an 8 because this is all utterly unscientific and I think moving AJ can only be good for both the franchise and AJ Burnett. Less of a logjam for the 5th starter’s spot, and a roster spot that can be put to better use for the next two seasons.
8.
I won’t go so far as to say that AJ’s trade was an “addition by subtraction” maneuver because i think the majority of us would’ve projected AJ to have a stronger season that Hughes or Garcia. However, it is most definitely time to see a healthy Hughes in action and AJ’s trade accomplishes this goal.
9.
The team is loaded everywhere and living legends Jeter, ARod and Mo, all still productive, are still around to watch and cheer for. I really can’t see things getting much better than this as a fan.
At the start of spring training, the East remains the most competitive division in the American League.
The Yankees are improved over last year on paper, but matching last year’s 97 wins will be a challenge. They match up well against other teams in the East: the Orioles lag and the Red Sox remain a mystery, leaving the Rays as closest rival, though the Yankees show better balance.
Yankees, Angels, Rangers, and Tigers are the class of the AL this year. Projecting the playoffs, the Yankees match up well against the improved Tigers, but have not matched up well recently against the Rangers, nor historically against the Angels.
I rate them a “7” on the meter.
I already want Raul Ibanez DFAed.
I am in the minority, but i think Ibanez is going to surprise some people this season. he wont be the second coming of Willie Mays, but he could very well have a Thames-esque season (if we can keep him off the grass)
WORLD CHAMPS 2012, BABY!!!
[/had to get that out there now’d
I’m at a 9, but I’m this close to dropping down to an 8 if Chavez signs a major league deal.
https://twitter.com/#!/JonHeymanCBS/status/171648539389198336
I am an eternal 8 at this game. always room for improvement, but when your teams only competetion going into ST is going to be for the 5th starter, LH DH & backup CIF, you are doing something right.
Usually vote ’8′ but went with ’9′ with the departure of AJ. Yanks’ll win 100 games this year.
10 only because the season is inching closer to starting. We’ll get warm weather soon. Baseball will be here nearly ever day for like 6 months. a little too much unbridled enthusiasm.