Comments on: The Rotation: Can’t Buy Me Love

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:31:09 +0000

I imagine that if Galvine and Smoltz retire along with Maddux, Smoltz’s entry will be easier because the writers will want to put all three in together.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:29:11 +0000

[33] I think if Pedro gets cut in Spring Training, he’s done.

By: Chyll Will

Chyll Will — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:26:51 +0000

[31] I think Pedro’s pride tries to wrangle one more year from Omar, and then Pedro’s body retires before the All-Star break.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:24:16 +0000

matt i was thinking about this too the other day.
it’s pretty impressive.
might have an impact on who gets in the hof – certainly will make someone like moose have to wait a bit longer.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:16:57 +0000

Interesting thought that I realized today. There’s a halfway decent chance that SEVEN of the best pitchers of the last 20 years all retire before April next year (Maddux, Mussina, Schilling, Glavine, Smoltz, Martinez, Johnson) which would wipe out the entire old guard of pitching.

The only one who I’m pretty sure won’t retire is Johnson. But ST could bring anything.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:12:24 +0000

I’d be willing to take on Ted Bundy if it meant I’d never see Sidney Ponson in a Yankee uniform again.

Sadly, I’m sure he’ll be back once or twice before its all said and done.

By: Diane Firstman

Diane Firstman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:12:03 +0000

Moose made it official ….. Yankee news conference at 4 p.m. today.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:06:12 +0000

[26] I’d be willing to take on Byrd if it means no Ponson in 2009.

By: Bum Rush

Bum Rush — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:52:08 +0000

@18

Sure, but even at the end of a 6 year contract he’ll be 33. That’s fantastic for an ace pitcher, especially a power arm that seems to be getting better and better and has never been injured. I see exactly zero reservations.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:34:12 +0000

[20] Those people tend to stay around long past their expiration date on this team. We were still trying to get blood from the Ponson stone until the very end,

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:26:40 +0000

Perhaps I should hit F5 before I post?

By: bzorn22

bzorn22 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:26:24 +0000

The only two free agents that I can see signing at all are Sabathia and/or Lowe. To get anyone else on that list you will have to overpay and there is no real point in overpaying for Looper or Perez or Sheets or any of the rest.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:25:39 +0000

[17]

It certainly wasn’t true during the non-dynasty years, of which there are more of..

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:24:04 +0000

I know you’re kidding, Matt, but Milton’s a free agent again anyway.

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:23:15 +0000

BobbyB, correlation is not causation. In 2000 the second lefty in the rotation was Denny Neagel. They won because of him? The 1982 Yankees had three lefties in the rotation (Gator, Rags, and Tommy John--three very good lefties) and won 79 games.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:21:21 +0000

[15] You can never have too many arms. It was expected that Kennedy & Hughes could throw league average innings, and that didn’t work out too well. Byrd is certainly a better option than, say, Pavano or Ponson.

By: Mattpat11

Mattpat11 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:15:34 +0000

They do have Eric Milton somewhere in the system, don’t they?

…

I feel dirty.

By: Chyll Will

Chyll Will — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:11:50 +0000

[16] Not his arm so much as his legs and knees. CC’s a Big Dude, bigger than Wells even, so you look at a similar situation, especially considering that CC is a power pitcher, and all power pitchers depend on their legs. His girth will be a big issue (no pun intended, really), like it or not, on the far side of 30. Yeah, Wells did some great stuff in that timeline, but his last go-round was painful to watch, and if you keep CC around that long, you might end up seeing it over again.

That’s the risk I think about, but it’s far outweighed (nope, not intended!) by what he brings now with young pitchers in tow. At his peak, the youngsters should be in good shape to take it from there.

By: BobbyB

BobbyB — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:08:14 +0000

Losing Mussina really gums up the future. I’s still convinced Joba should be a reliever and that makes the situation worse. THey still missed the baot with Santana last season. You’re going to need two lefties in your rotation to keep a high winning percentage in Yankee Stadium. I bet if one of you stats guys checks, the Yankees were always winners when they had 2 or more Left handed starters. IT certainly was true during the recent dynasty years.

By: Bum Rush

Bum Rush — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:48:04 +0000

@ 8.9

Cool. Now if only the Yanks are on the same page as us!

On Burnett, if they sign him I can at least talk myself into his AL East splits. But, yeah, that’s not going to be a fun contract.

Otherwise, what are the reservations on Sabathia to keep him from top priority status over a very good, but not HOF-worthy, 1B? It’s not simply the innings load, is it? The guy’s never had any arm troubles.