Thanksgiving Weekend Open Thread

by 52 Comments

Sherman: Yankees are "more upbeat" Kuroda will return for 2014
Cotillo: Chris Stewart drawing trade interest

From all of us here at RAB, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there. I am especially thankful for everyone who’s taken the time to read and comment (good or bad!) over the years. I’m not joking when I say RAB has been a life-changing experience. I’ve met countless awesome people and made so many great friends who I otherwise never would have met without the site. Thanks for making all that possible by helping make RAB what it is today.

Outside of major news, I don’t anticipate posting much the next four days just because it’s the holiday weekend and I want to chill out for a bit. It’s a long season, man. I need a break. Our season review series wrapped up yesterday, but if you missed any of the 15 What Went Right or 24 What Went Wrong posts, click the links to go back through the archives. I am officially declaring the 2013 campaign a thing of the past and am looking forward to the rest of the offseason and the 2014 season. The Yankees have lots of work to do and that means the next few weeks should be pretty action packed.

Here is your open thread for the day. I hope you’re enjoying the holiday with family and friends and eating lots of food. Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday. Talk about that food, the day’s various football games, and whatever else you want right here. Enjoy.

Sherman: Yankees are "more upbeat" Kuroda will return for 2014
Cotillo: Chris Stewart drawing trade interest
  • I’m One

    Happy Thanksgiving Mike, Joe, Ben and everyone that contributes comments to the site. It’s always interesting.

    Hoping everyone is able to spend some time enjoying family and friends.

  • Hal’s Plan

    “The Yankees have lots of work to do and that means the next few weeks should be pretty action packed.”

    To distract the fanbase. Hard to see how this org is competing for much of anything in 2014. They were below average in 2013 across the board. They needed to upgrade at:

    C – Good, but overpriced
    1B – Rapidly going below average and no hope of getting better.
    2B – Hard to see why they should pay big money to a guy who will be overpriced in 2-3 years
    SS – Average Jeter and Ryan and that’s at least an average starter
    3B – The $30m Kid who is likely replaced by Nunez

    RF – Ichiro/Wells is deadly…to an offense
    CF – Gardner could be their best player in 2014, scary
    LF – Soriano – good not great

    So the lineup is 3-4 above average players and 4-5 average or worse players. Hard to be much excited about .

    The rotation?

    #1 – Sabathia with a shit ton of innings on his arm and showing the wear
    #2 – Nova who is way out of slot here, it wasn’t so long ago people here thought he was hopeless
    #3-5: Nothing but Questions.

    Bullpen:
    – Robertson and ???

    Bench:
    – Cervelli and Ryan and ???

    I can’t believe people actually think this team has a chance of competing. Hal will be laughing all the way to the bank.

    • tomingeorgia

      Damned Eeyores, even on Thanksgiving.

    • Pat D

      Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

      • Betty Lizard

        Well done.

    • lou

      C – Good, but overpriced – (Little more then good)

      1B – Rapidly going below average and no hope of getting better.

      (agreed!) – Homerun or bust – Would like the Yankees to make him into a #7 hitter buy getting better players in.

      2B – Hard to see why they should pay big money to a guy who will be overpriced in 2-3 years

      (should have been traded during last season)

      SS – Average Jeter and Ryan and that’s at least an average starter.

      ( When thye see Jeter can’t play SS they will only throw some replacement out there to get 400 to many PAs)

      3B – The $30m Kid who is likely replaced by Nunez

      (Nunez another replacement the Yankees will field)

      RF – Ichiro/Wells is deadly…to an offense

      (Yankees need to upgrade RF and wash their hands with Wells & trade Ichrio away. How many little boys do they need in the outfield that has the power of a fly there is one in CF already)

      CF – Gardner could be their best player in 2014, scary

      (When your second best hitter is Gardner in 2013 you GOT PROBLEMS) I await they day for the Gardner expermient to be over. Another Mighty Mouse not! Another table setter not! Another number 9 hitter YES …Yankees are filled with them.)

      LF – Soriano – good not great ( Agreed….but better the the two shits stains in RF & CF)

      • Need Pitching & Hitting

        Gardner was above average for a leadoff hitter this year, and above average overall for his position.

        How is that an experiment?

        I don’t get the zeal to get rid of the player who might be the best, most cost efficient position player on the current roster.

        • The Big City of Dreams

          Gardner gets a lot of heat because he doesn’t fit the “Yankee mold” some fans are used to.

  • http://rab.com Michael Cutler

    Take the weekend off bro you deserve it Mike, Happy Holidays to you and the rest of the RAB family!

  • http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso

    #slacker

    :)

  • forensic

    Happy Thanksgiving to the RABbi’s and all the commenters out there! Hope everyone eats way too much food today like I usually do.

    Oh, and think good thoughts about me not getting called out to work today or tomorrow. :-)

    Time to enjoy some College Basketball (and other sports).

  • Matt Scanzano

    Do you think trading Tex would be a good idea? And if, then who for? Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Bob Buttons

    How nice, my internet being weird again on one bloody day I can fully enjoy it this week. #MiddleClassProblems
    Though I guess I’m thankful that I have a baseball site to read that offers insights and viewpoints that makes sense and more actual fans than people who makes me want to cancel my internet service, and I’m certainly thankful that I have the liberty to enjoy internet (sometimes) and food inside my heated home.

  • Nedro

    I ate some turkey, you guys! It was pretty good. Also I made a sweet potato casserole. It was really sweet.

  • mustang

    Happy Thanksgiving to all.

  • Tags

    Right back at you Mike, RAB has always been an addiction for. We appreciate everything you do here. Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Dr TJ Eckleberg

    I’m thankful for the work that you guys at RAB do. Hope you guys have a good day. In fact Mike, I don’t think anyone would resent you if you just turned this into a Thanksgiving Weekend Open thread and shut it down fur a few. Thanks for giving us a great, free (to us) place to read about our favorite team.

  • Iron Horse

    Happy Thanksgiving! And thank for doing such a great job of keeping us on top of all things Yankees! I don’t always agree with the opinions expressed, but I always leave the RAB page feeling smarter than when I started reading. Looking forward to 2014!
    Also, while I agree that many fans are vastly over-enthused about this team’s chances to be a real contender,I cannot fathom how anyone who watched last year’s team can’t see what an upgrade McCann will be in the starting lineup. Good but over-priced? You can apply that tag to Shane Victorino, and he has more WS rings than Cano…. If the reports are correct, and Yanks are in serious negotiations with Beltran and Infante, and these two guys join the roster, now the team has upgraded yet again. These can only be good things, guys! There is NO WAY the 2013 team should have won 85 games.
    You want scary? Compare the 2013 outfield to the 1972 outfield: two different eras, but having seen both of these outfields in person, I’d take the ’72 Johnny Callison over Vernon “what, me worry, the Angels pay my salary” Wells any day. Roy White in left, Bobby Ray in center, Callsion and a cast of others in right, even Ron Swoboda, was better than what they threw out there last year.
    At first I wasn’t thrilled about. Beltran, but taking a closer look, Beltran could be the steal of this free agent group. His age is a big minus, and he wants three years, but, even at 37, I think he’s worth the gamble. If he stays healthy, big if, and if he puts up just his usual numbers, he could certainly turn out to be as good for Yanks as Swisher. And he is a switch-hitter, so he could be a very valuable DH, spelling Jeter and Soriano at DH, and in the last year of the contract he could look like a steal of a DH.
    Now, it shows how far Yanks have fallen that all of these if’s are the good news.
    And they haven’t even addressed the pitching. Getting Kuroda back, as a FIFTH starter, would be a good thing. Seeing Hughes in the rear-view mirror would be a good thing! Personally, I think Sabathia will bounce back with a good year because, the guy I’ve seen with the Yankees knows how to pitch…after that, Nova?….Tanaka?
    I can’t see signing Garza…thank god Vasquez can’t come back…give Sox credit, they DRAFTED Lester and Bucholz, while the Cashman drafted Andrew Brackman, traded for the likes of Pineda and Humberto Sanchez…
    It can be done, but Yanks are far from being a legit contender right now…but we should be very grateful for McCann, c’mon!

  • nycsportzfan

    Hey mike, i was thinking about upgrading the bullpen which probably needs to be done with pretty much Kelley and Robertson as the only 2 close to sure things coming back next yr(just guessing Kelley is back?).I figure we need to save some money some places, and was thinking of Chris Perez and Matt Thornton. We certainly need a expierenced lefty in the pen with Logan a FA, and with Chris Perez, ur getting a bit of a deal for a guy who was pretty good just the yr before last and has a bunch of expierence as a closer, if say, Robertson is more a 8th inn guy then Closer. If Robertson does the job , then Perez can set him up along with Kelley as a hot hand approach.

    I’m thinking Thornton and Perez can be had for cheaper then usual for obvious reasons. What do u think about adding those 2players mike?

    • nycsportzfan

      That could lead to a bullpen that stacks up like this.

      Adam Warren
      Preston Claiborne
      Cesar Cabral
      Matt Thornton
      Shawn Kelley
      Chris Perez
      David Robertson

      • Bob Buttons

        Thornton is kinda old and Perez is kinda not good this season, plus rumored to be a bit of a dick, hence why Stl and Min got rid of him.
        The rest really not much to go excited or frown over, just young arms who might do better than what you can get out of cheap reclamation relievers.

        • nycsportzfan

          I don’t mind Thorntons age. Hes still good, and not like hes a starter or anything. I think his age helps us get him in pinstripes for alittle cheaper then if he were 34 or so anyhow. Again, i am trying to see if theres a way to build a cheapish bullpen, and when you do that, there is gonna be a couple question marks, as it woulden’t be cheapish, if they were all say David Robertson’s and Mariona Rivera’s.

          Chris Perez on the other hand isn’t far removed from being solid, but as you say, has charechter issues and what not. So again, thats why i like em. Because he may come alittle cheaper and also, i’m sure hes heard the rumours about his so called being a bit of a “dick”, and would probably welcome not hering that again. Shoot, he might even want to stick it to the Indians for releasing him. Both Thornton and Perez are gambles, but the type of gambles i like. They aren’t washed up and aren’t far off from real success, and they should come alittle cheaper.

      • http://rab.com Michael Cutler

        You smoke more stuff than Chris Perez, if you ever think Chris Perez – will ever be a New York Yankee. . . #420

      • Robinson Tilapia

        You’re being a bit too find of name guys in middle relief roles there. That’s how you wind up throwing payroll to the wind.

        Me love cheap bullpen. Raaargh.

        • nycsportzfan

          I was actually thinking we could get both them for a bit of value at this point. Chris Perez was released by Indians and Thornton is 37 and probably didn’t earn that 5million he made last yr. They both have alot of expierence which is good for the young guys in the pen, espeically Claiborne, Cabral, and Warren. I think we need to get some known guys to go with those types. Also, Perez could be a nice backup option to Robertson, if he dosen’t do so well closing. If he does, then Perez can just pitch the 7th-8th. I think Perez is much better then Joba, and Thornton is still pretty solid, and a decnet short term filler in place of Logan, and gives us a 2nd lefty in the pen, in case Cabral dosen’t do so well.

        • RetroRob

          I am not too concerned about the Yankees pen. I think they do need to add one more established “sure thing” since Rivera has exited, but the one area Cashman/Girardi have excelled at is building bullpens on the fly.

          If anything, the failures have happened one they’ve spend money to bring in arms. Thorton and Perez will be expensive, and they seem exactly like the type of arms that could deliver mediocre results.

  • mustang

    Bored so here I go:

    “With McCann, the Yankees will have eight players signed next year for $115.21 million, which would fall to $87.71 million if Rodriguez were removed completely for 2014.”

    Beltran-15
    Cano- 25
    Kuroda- 17
    infante- 10
    Tanaka-10

    115+77=192 for 13 players !

    “I don’t want a lot for Christmas
    There is just one thing I need
    I don’t care about the presents
    Underneath the Christmas tree….
    …All I want for Christmas
    Is a 1 year A-Rod Suspension…”

    • mustang

      “If the Yankees could form a middle of the order of Beltran, Cano, Soriano, McCann and Mark Teixeira, they believe their offense will be a force again in 2014.”

      Nasty! 2 switch hitters, 2 power lefty bats, and one righty power bat that a bit of improvement over 2013.

      • mustang

        Add Jeter, Infante, Gardner, DH ( Wells…etc)

        I can live with it.

  • Jersey Joe

    Would anyone see Furcal as a consolation for Drew/Infante?

    • Bob Buttons

      Too old and injury-prone in recent years to offer a 40-man spot, but someone else will.

  • DJ3K

    Thank you Joe, Ben, Mike and all of those of whom make RAB available to diehard readers like me. The site is awesome and a daily treat. Always has been and always will be as long as you continue to post your thoughts with the candor we so enjoy. Love the DOTF by the way. Please keep it all up. I hope you and all of yours enjoyed and will enjoy the remainder of the long weekend. Cheers. Go Yankees.

  • Robinson Tilapia

    Happy belated Thanksgiving to Mike, Ben, Joe, the regulars, the lurkers, the generic first-name guys, trolls, men posing as women, Sox fans, and anyone else I left out on here. Thank you for giving this stressed-out dad somewhere to have mindless fun while everything else in life is a bit too serious.

    Here’s to many more years of Cashman failing.

    • I’m a looser baby so why don’t you kill me?

      Now you’re cooking with fire!

    • Betty Lizard

      You forgot women posing as men and subversive algorithms.

    • ropeadope

      RT, you’re entitled to a Holiday spelling error. Hope you don’t mind me correcting it.

      Here’s too many more years of Cashman failing.

      Oh, I prematurely (not the first time – won’t be the last) wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving in the Wednesday night open thread, so I won’t repeat myself.

  • MannyGeee

    As much as I’d love for Mike to have 4 days off from entertaining this bunch of cartoon characters (I kid… sorta).

    Here’s to hoping the Yankees break the Thanksgiving Weekend mold and sign ALL TEH PLAYERZ this weekend. Then Mike will HAVE TO write something this weekend, right? RIGHT??

    • I’m a looser baby so why don’t you kill me?

      Exactly!

      Fear of the Day (FotD)™: the egg nog is wearing off

  • I’m a looser baby so why don’t you kill me?

    Happy belated thanksgiving to all, especially the RABbis, the regulars, and the trolls.

  • Pseudoyanks

    Geez, I’m eating leftovers and reading yesterday’s thread. Haha. I predict another signing next week. Also, announcements on Tanaka posting process. Nothing will please me more than to discard my hopefully soon to be obsolete screen name.

  • Bavarian Yankee

    Enjoy your break, Mike!

    Happy Thanksgiving to all of you over there in the US ;)

  • http://twitter.com/matt__harris Matt :: Sec110

    Would…or should…the Yankees have any interest in Mark Ellis? I just saw the Dodgers declined his option. Would he come cheaper than Drew? Only 23 of his 1314 career games have come at 3B or SS.

  • Erick

    How about signing Kazmir, Infante, trade for Corey Dickerson ,,and Christian Friedrich from the Rockies. Sign Cano to play third. 25mm for a second base man no bueno.

  • Lukaszek

    OMGOMGOMG the food court in New World Mall on Main Street and Roosevelt is f’ing amazing! Ate Thanksigivng dinner there, cuttlefish ball soup for five dollars and roujiamo for only three bucks. Roujiamo is particularly impressive for the price.

  • Wayne

    People talk about teams like Boston and St.louis being able to draft well and sign free agents when they need to but st.louis drafted shelby miller and michael wacha in the top ten so its protected whether you sign free agents or not. The red sox drafted trey ball lll in top ten the same year they win the World series. Henry Owens was drafted the year we signed rafael soriano. Bucholz was drafted the year before cashman took over. I don’t know when lester was drafted or where but thats just one player. The Red Sox also drafted in top ten while signing Napoli, victorino and stephen drew this year.

  • mustang
    • forensic

      So, in somehow comparing A-Rod to Braun in this, who’s playing the role of the innocent, nameless Laurenzi who did his job and was only brought into this by Braun deciding to pile lies on top of lies in a press conference?

      Would that be Bud Selig or Tony Bosch? I’m sure neither of them has done anything wrong in this whole situation, and A-Rod somehow brought them into it himself.

      Maybe A-Rod should just invite them both for dinner, just to be safe. They could do a secret Santa passing around drugs, syringes, and blinders.

      • mustang

        All I see is that at least Braun is trying to amends for this action. He didn’t need to reach out to Laurenzi he could of just done his suspension and move on.
        I understand the dislike for MLB, Selig, Bosch, etc, but to me no one is worse then A-Rod. For example how many times has A-Rod let the public know how this whole thing has affected his daughters? I saw him do it in 2 different interviews. Doesn’t he understand that by doing that he is probably causing more damage? As a father if I was in A-Rod’s situation the last thing I would want is to drag my kids into this media circus. To me it clearly shows what type of person A-Rod is someone who will do anything to cover his own ass and everything else he done just enforces that.

        • Mr. Roth

          “He didn’t need to reach out to Laurenzi he could of just done his suspension and move on.”

          Oh please, Braun is reaching out to the guy purely as a publicity stunt to help fix his tarnished image. There’s nothing genuine about this at all.

        • Bob Buttons

          I see is a lying f–kface who is trying to act like he gave a rat’s ass about the collector after doing everything in his power to destroy the guy’s reputation and life. He had what? A handful of months to get things right? I rather cheer for the Red Sox to win the world series for three straight years than to cheer Ryan Fraud or see him in a positive light, ever. My hatred for Braun is so intense that anyone who respects Braun’s set of shenanigans instantly lose a load of respect from me.

          At least A-Rod has my respect for not playing “OH IM SO SORRY FOR LYING ABOUT ME NOT LYING SRRY GUYS PLS FORGIVE ME IM SORRY FOR STUFF I’VE DONE I REALIZE I DID WRONG AND I FESS UP THE FIRST CHANCE I GOT” this time around. Kinda like your spouse saying sorry for you for banging your neighbor for 10 months then lying about it and publicly humiliated you and made you the laughingstock of your workplace and social circle for accusing her on circumstantial evidence of her infidelity.

          To me it clearly shows what type of person A-Rod Braun is someone who will do anything to cover his own ass and everything else he done just enforces that.
          There, fixed it for ya.

          Don’t mind me. I’m a tad incensed from forgetting to buy that thing I’ve forgotten and can’t remember what it is for the past 10 hours.

  • Robinson Tilapia

    Who had 3/24 in the “How much will Hughes get?” pool?

    • forensic

      Nobody smart. ;-)