I, for one at least, am not going to buy into the Gammons-led Red Sox party line and believe that Manny is the root of all evil. If two games and one incident erase all that he done on the field, then I think we need to reevaluate our puritanical view, or clean out the closets of the many players already in uniform.

I must try that bacon roll. That is awesome on so many different levels.

Aaagghhhhhhh!!! As Charlie Brown would say.

I was all for Tex for 6 or 7 years at 20mm per, but at 9 or 10 it’s time to move on. Just because the Yanks have lately done a terrible job filling the slot doesn’t mean 1B is all of a sudden a hard position to fill. Plenty of FA 1B guys will hit the market in the next 6 years, guys like Pujols, Howard, Prince, etc.

Besides all that though, Nady should really be on the trading block right now, I want a replacement for Tabata in the farm system! I think a market for him would develop before the FAs settle, as he’s so much cheaper. The tier of teams who can’t pay for Dunn, Tex, Manny, etc should look at Nady as a solid option. Hell, maybe trading Nady opens up enough money to get Tex after all, which would leave Swish in RF, then go get Holliday for LF next year. Swish’s flexibility means signing Tex gives you a medium term OF asset, of which we have none if Swish is the 1B.

I guess that’s all to say there is really no excuse to not add one big time hitter. there are just so many ways to go, at plenty of price points.

IIRC, Rob Neyer said they were 3rd in the AL in road OPS in 2008 – obviously a big difference. Still, its possible that the Yanks offense might be OK next year without any other additions, but I’m skeptical.

I think the forgotten point in all this Manny talk – and the talk about the offense in general – is the Yanks’ lack of depth and their over-reliance on guys who, at age 35 or older, are that much more likely to miss games due to injury. That’s even before you add Manny (going to be 37) into the equation (or Cameron – who will be 36). Damon, Matsui, Jeter, Posada – all are likely to miss 20 games or more. The Yanks’ options to cover any of those guys, even with a mere replacement-level player, are basically nil. The reserve OFs are Shelley Duncan and whichever of Melky and Gardner isn’t in CF. Even if you consider Swisher a reserve OF, the 1B on the roster are Shelley again and Juan Miranda. I guess Ransom could cover 1B too – but then the Yanks have no reserve 2B or SS or 3B!

Why add to that problem by signing a 37-year-old with a recent history of knee and leg issues (Manny) – or worse, trading for a 36-year-old CF? (Though at least Gardner might be an OK cover in CF for a couple of weeks if Cameron got hurt, or in LF for Damon.)

Youth is not a panacea, but context is important here. I’d much rather the Yanks take a chance on Dunn – or somehow sign Tex – if only because either of those guys is far more likely to play 160 games next year than Manny is.

We’ve already seen what happens when Posada and Matsui miss significant amounts of time. Do we really want to see that again?

Tex, on the other hand is a team guy. It has been excruciating watching the Yank’s attempts to fill the hole at 1st. Mantiewicz looked great, but his bat was cold. Giambi’s bat was great, but couldn’t throw a ball in a straight line. I would prefer to see that addressed. Also, with Damon and Matsui, we have a log jam between LH and DH if Manny were there.

If they sign Manny, its yet another position they have to fill in three years.

Giambi’s offensive numbers were indeed better than Tex when he first signed (especially having played in that Oakland park with all the foul territory). However, Giambi was always a wreck defensively, and his skill set (and use of PEDs) led to a rapid decline, which many of us could have (did?) foreseen at the signing of that 7-year deal.

As for the OPS last year … Giambi and Abreu were 2nd and 3rd on the team in OPS+ …. why not slot Tex into one of those holes?

(Kim Ng … watch out)

I really really wanted the Yanks to sign Tex, but I think 9 years and 200M for a 1B is pretty much a bad idea…

[14][15] I did forget the traveling secretary incident, but Manny also apologized, and perhaps worse, was allowed to get away with such behavior by the Sox org.

But as for “And the fact that it came in the midst of an obvious series of “dogging it” episodes (e.g. leaving his bat on his shoulder for 3 straight down the middle pitches, forgetting which knee was “hurt”, etc.)”
I’m sorry, but there is no way to prove that Manny purposefully struck out. In fact, if anything, Manny has proved quite the opposite, that despite whatever else might be going on, when he is in the batters box, he is there to do one thing, hit. If Manny was “dogging it” last season, he did so to a tune that outhit everyone but ARod on the Yanks.

And I still stand by my original statement: The notion that Manny is somehow of lesser character than everyone else is a convenient excuse. Should his “dogging it” rumors and his incident with the traveling secretary be considered worse than driving drunk? Or punching a wall? Or throwing at someones head on purpose? Or taking roids? Or beating your spouse? Or getting in bar fights?

Because all of those things have happened in the last year, and are just as “dangerous” or worse, yet the focus is on Manny’s “bad character.”

The Yanks have had plenty of bad apples on their team. They’ve won with them and lost with them.

I’m sorry, if you were okay having Gary freaking Sheffield on your team, than Manny HAS to be ok.

2) There are no good 8 year contracts. Giambi was much better (may still be better) than Teixera when he was first signed – who wants that to have lasted 8 years? Let’s go with Swisher for a bit and see where it gets us. Yanks were third in baseball in OPS last year – what’s all the kvetching about?

All that being said, I just don’t know how well he’ll fit in on the Yankees. I think all their concerns they had when he was last available still stand … Maybe though, his weirdness and A-Rod’s will somehow cancel each other out. Or maybe they will spur each other on to even greater heights of weirdness … A-Rod marries Dolly Parton? Manny falls asleep at home plate after hitting a home run? These things and more may come true; also they might have 500 RBI between them.

20 – 100 years ago, the news cycle consisted of 1-2 editions of a daily paper and the evening news. The press corps was way smaller. And on and on.

We had plenty of alcoholics, abusers (physical and substance), cheaters, louts, etc. on the team over the years – including some legends with retired numbers!

I’m sort of playing devil’s advocate b/c I’m of two minds on Manny. But ignore the past at your own peril…

…combines to make things worse in terms of his character. He was clearly – literally and figuratively – shoving his way out of town.

And the fact that it came in the midst of an obvious series of “dogging it” episodes (e.g. leaving his bat on his shoulder for 3 straight down the middle pitches, forgetting which knee was “hurt”, etc.)

And you’re also forgetting the fact that it was Papi protecting Manny in the clubhouse and from the press.

All this said, let’s not assume the Yanks have given up the character driven approach just yet. After all, all we know is what we read in the papers. Has Hank been quoted about loving Manny? Sure. But he’s always good for a quote. About anyone or anything. Until there’s a confirmed offer, all this taking offense to the notion of Manny on the Yanks b/c he doesn’t fit the brand/character mold is just speculative.

What, he watches his home runs, does some goofy things, is a mental case and can be counted on for 15 or so “mental off days a season,” and supposedly “tanked” the first half of last year despite hitting to an ops+ of 130, better than anyone save Arod on the Yanks?

First, the Yanks have had plenty of guys who watch their home runs, do goofy things, and take mental days. El Duque almost always hit the dl with some injury or another that nobody could figure out. The line between Damon and Manny isn’t so far apart.

But even ignoring all that, Manny has never, say, been caught drunk driving like a certain fan favorite kid. He’s never been caught with a gun, never cursed anyone out, or anything remotely “thugish.” Hes a putz, but he isn’t dangerous, and if he is such a “cancer,” it sure didn’t hurt the Sox. Remember that 2004 team that had such great “chemistry” and that helped them win? wasn’t Manny on that team?

There is simply no better bat out there than Manny’s. Not Dunn. Not Tex. If the Yankees can get Manny for two years, then they should. Period.