What happened?

Beane is interested in Furcal because Crosby is horrendous defensively, worse offensively, locked into a raise for next year (his last on the current contract), and has little in the way of prospects at SS. Not because he’s going to get a bargain. Furcal is just the best available SS with the potential for a non-crippling contract. Additionally, the Furcal to As rumor is pretty much that. Beane should be interested in Furcal for all those reasons, but he’s not the only GM by any stretch.

The Yankees had no problems defensively with C and CF, but for 2009 when one catcher has no bat, the other has a reconstructed shoulder, and the two CFers can’t mount enough offense to be dangerous, I think it’s misdirected to be worrying about the one guy that’s adequate for his position and not the real holes. Jeter has two years remaining on his contract, at which point his declining skills at SS will be taken into consideration for replacement. Based on win shares, Furcal is worth an extra win share over Jeter with his glove and Jeter is worth an extra 2 wins with his bat. The entire hassle would probably be have a marginal, if any, effect.

[8] “SS is very near the top of the defensive spectrum”

Obviously and I didn’t say it wasn’t important. I just don’t think there is a “most important” defensive position.

Manny would prevent that too – and a contract of half the length and cost

It may not “wow” you, but .335 OBP is league average. So that .352 OBP is above average and from an above average glove at SS. He’s a solid option for anyone concerned about the Yankees lack of defense.

Seriously, you’re arguing about AVG rather than OBP? Furcal has an above average ability to get on-base.

The offensive difference, between Jeter and Furcal, is negligible considering the huge gap in defense. Again, it’s a moot point. They aren’t signing him.

SS is very near the top of the defensive spectrum, especially if you don’t have strikeout pitchers.

Jeter was 18 runs below average by one estimate (FRAA). He’s clearly below average at this point and clearly getting worse by the year.

@5

More balls reach SS than CF and that affects more runners than the Catcher does. Last year, there weren’t defensive problems in CF and at Catcher. There clearly was at SS unless you’re blinded by fanboyitis.

@6

They’re not going to sign him, so it’s a moot point. But Furcal is an average hitter, with a good OBP, and an above average glove. His career .764 OPS is about what Jeter put up last year (.771 OPS). Point is: Furcal is four years younger, offers a bit less offense, but a significantly better glove. The latter alone would mean a few extra wins. Better, Furcal can be had for a decent contract in this market. That’s why Beane is after him.

And you’re right, Teixeira is going to get his, there will be no bargain shopping there either.

The problem with Abreu is that his OBP and SLG have been declining and his defense was just horrible. I like Bobby, I wish we had him for a longer period. But in terms of dollars to ability, he’s going to ask for a a lot of guaranteed money. He doesn’t have, nor will he put up, a .900 OPS, which makes his defense a bigger liability.

If I had to choose between Abreu and Matsui for a dh, I think I’d take Abreu. I’d be happy if the Yankees could move Nady and Matsui for something (“something” includes a replacement RFer).

The pragmatist in me says that Cashman is going to be stirring a lot of pots and making a ton of noise in the kitchen, but it’ll only amount to one dish.

As bad as a signing as AJ Burnett would be, if Cashman signs AJ, he’ll only be completely ignoring Burnett’s injury history. When he signed Carl Pavano, he ignored Pavano’s injury history AND the fact that Carl Pavano isn’t any good even when healthy.

Burnett won’t go down with the Pavano trade, but it will still be a disaster.

And I still think that if we don’t get Sabathia, the rotation and the team just aren’t good enough.

No one’s “jumping” on Tex because Boras is his agent. He’ll get a deal in January.

Again, defense cost the team because they have one of the worst defensive shortstops. It’s THE most important defensive position. Moving Jeter and getting Furcal would mean a significant upgrade on team defense. By contrast, defense at 1B means little. It’s a bit more important than defense at DH.

I posted this before, but I think it’s very relevant in looking at off-season aquisitions… especially the CC vs. Tex debate.

Steve Goldman listed our needs, in order, as follws:
Defense, Offense, Pitching.
To back that up, while our 2008 ERA was 8th out of 14, our DIP ERA was better then both TB and the Sox. A quality start is 6 IPS with an ERA of 4.5 or better. Last year, we lost 22 games where we HELD the opposition to 4 runs or less. We win ONE THIRD of those games, and we finish ahead of Boston.

While CC is indeed a Golden Goose, it is Tex that is a huge upgrade on defense and a decent upgrade on offense (over Giambi). Swish is a big defensive upgrade in RF over Bobby, and his total impact may end up being better then Bobby.

I also think the ecomony will get real bad over the next year. There will be midseason dumps, fire-sales and cheaper FAs next year.

I believe (although others disagreed) that Miggy Cabrera could be had for a reasonable trade… if we don’t get Tex. If sheets can be had for 3 years at $10m/yr, this seems like a decent hi-risk/hi-reward deal. People call the Pavano deal one of Cashmans worst, yet we want to gamble $70m-$80m on AJ?

I believe Tex can be had for 7/$140m…. maybe 7/$133. Nobody seems to be jumping on him.

Give me Tex/Miggy and a solid/non-star innings eater and I’m happy. We will have our pick of the litter over the next year.

I think most here underestimate just how much our defense cost us last year.