Comments on: Home Cookin

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:32:16 +0000

[40] Am hoping they Yanks win the bid for Yu Darvish next year, they need a Japanese star to replace Matsui..think of a rotation with CC, Joba, Hughes and Darvish ALL in their 20s!

Wow, Vaccaro in the NY Post just ripped into Torre today..am browsing the tabloids against my better judgement on this one, and loving it. It does make me wonder about the timing though..he’s still managing and getting paid, why not wait till he’s out of baseball??

By: Yankster

Yankster — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:02:36 +0000

Unlike Sheets and the Sox signings, Andy is a well known quantity staying with the same team, same catchers (knock on wood), same teammates, the whole bit. I like this signing because A) it was a solid dignified negotiation with a contract that could look good with a number of outcomes B) it’s always better to sign a known quantity. Grats to Cashman on a great offseason. I’m hoping we get to roll through that rotation at least a few times before someone falls apart. It could be a wicked wicked good pitching squad. I’m excited to see Wang too.

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:59:52 +0000

[38] Indeed.
I am WAY too excited about the rotation now…this is now a 100-win team (if they sort out the catcher situation..)

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:33:16 +0000

Cashman handled this perfectly. Props.

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:24:08 +0000

I know a lot of people have written about the good signings the Sox made, and financially I can see it but..even given that pitchers are always an injury risk, I see a lot of DL time for their staff..if they don’t have the “ace” version of Beckett then I don’t see them having a top5 staff at all..

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:06:20 +0000

It wasn’t good PR, but at least this way everybody knows it was Jason’s fault (or Scott’s, depending on whom you hold responsible).
I think really they’d spend $8M to avoid the PR plus the nightmare of “Starting Catcher: Josh Bard”. (I know, he isn’t really a lot worse than Varitek, but Sox mgmt is convinced that the young pitching staff cannot be entrusted to Bard.)

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:03:20 +0000

[34] It’s not really an issue of being released in March…the Sox could have released him immediately. Now maybe the Sox would spend $8mn ($10mn instead of the $2mn buyout) to avoid the PR nightmare, but then why not just offer him a $10mn one-year deal right now? Stringing things out can’t exactly be good PR?

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:59:42 +0000

[33] It’s possible that Boras told ‘Tek to accept arbitration and he didn’t do it… but it’s pretty unlikely.
Would the Sox have released him in March? Very doubtful. They have no decent alternatives, and the public relations would be a nightmare.
And remember, even if Varitek were released in March, he could still sign with another team, and that team wouldn’t have to give up a draft pick. True, good teams would have by then settled on a starting catcher, but on balance he would be in pretty good shape: almost $2M from the Sox for nothin’ and free rein to go sign with another team that wouldn’t have to give up compensation.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:53:18 +0000

[32] I don’t know if we are sure Boras advised him to pass on arbitration. Also, it is important to keep in mind that arbitration contracts are not guaranteed, so the Sox could have released Varitek in March for 1/6 the value of the deal.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:51:13 +0000

[31] The reason he’d be unhappy with his agent is that his agent told him to pass on the arbitration. Which was a very big error.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:34:11 +0000

[27] Boras can’t squeeze blood from a stone. Varitek isn’t exactly a hot commodity, so I am not sure how angry Varitek could be with his agent.

The Pettitte deal makes all the sense in the world for both parties. In spite of the posturing, I was pretty sure the deal would get done, so it’s nice to see both sides come to an agreement with no apparent hard feelings.

When you juxtapose the Pettitte deal with the Sox’ deals for Penny and Smoltz, the contract looks even better for the Yankees. Pettitte is not only healthier than both, but a peripheral analysis indicates that Pettitte is a good bet to improve significantly. Bringing Pettitte back into the fold is a very good thing for the 2009 Yankees.

By: OldYanksFan

OldYanksFan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:27:04 +0000

I guess ARod has a few friends. Via ESPN:

“I have never one time heard of the term ‘A-Fraud’ until I saw that rolling on the TV, I guess this morning or whenever they started reporting it,” said Pettitte, who rejoined the Yankees for the 2007 season. “If it did go on, it went on before I was there.”

Cashman said that when Rodriguez became a free agent after the 2007 season, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Pettitte all urged him to re-sign A-Rod. “That was real,” Cashman said. “It was offered up.”

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:24:40 +0000

[27] Boras takes the hit on that one,surely. Am very glad the BoSox brought back Tek, as I look forward to CC, AJ and Joba striking him out 75 times this year.

By: OldYanksFan

OldYanksFan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:19:58 +0000

“Pettitte and the Yankees agreed Monday to a $5.5 million, one-year contract. While the guaranteed money is less than half New York’s original $10 million offer, he can make an additional $6.5 million in bonuses: $4.5 million based on innings and $2 million based on days on the active roster.”

I’ll guess in order to make $12m he’ll basically have to be healthy 90%+ of the season and log 200 IP. Personally, I wish ALL contracts were incentive laden… so at least you get what you pay for. If Andy makes $12m this year, that probably means he helped us to make the PS.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Hey, a little OT but maybe kind of relevant, sort of:
it looks like Captain Facemask got smoked at the bargaining table. The Sox have offered one year at (maybe) $5M (but some are saying it’s less) plus a complex option for the second year (club option at $5M, player option at $3M). So, uh, even if it’s the max of the range being reported, he makes less for two years than he would have got for one in arbitration.

Will this be bad pub for Boras? And is ‘Tek potentially an unhappy camper? I mean, not off the bat, but if things go a little sour for him in some way?

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:12:07 +0000

[6] So I was soaking my bunions in a foot bath and cutting some vegetables..of those Newman stories!

[17] I’m with you Weeping!! This is a great staff now, and when the inevitable injuries hit, Hughes is there for the spot starts. Does this mean we FINALLY have reached the end of the Sir Sidney Story: The Yankee Years? Happy Day indeed!

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:05:31 +0000

Considering the bang for the buck approach, Andy was the best choice out there, although Sheets was kind of intriguing. But the way teams are avoiding him, he either wants too much or his medical reports are scary, or both. Andy may feel like he has something to prove, and with incentives involved, hopefully that translates into a focused, bear-down, effective season for him.

As for Chase Wright, I remember those four straight HRs he gave up at Fenway. Now that was a horror show.

By: Bum Rush

Bum Rush — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:53:26 +0000

Would have been nice to have a Spring competition for the fifth slot, but this is good for the 2009 team. If anyone gets hurt, then Hughes et al get some starts. But I’m with Goldman in thinking the best preparation for pitching in the majors is…pitching in the majors.

With this move, I’d love to see the Yanks trade some of this pitching depth for a legitimate centerfielder.

Hughes, McAllister, Melky for Kemp?

Kennedy, Aceves, Gardner for McLouth?

For them to sit on all that depth while doing nothing about CF is the typical Yankee m.o., but it needn’t be so.

By: PJ

PJ — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:50:09 +0000

[21] No, I’m not joking and yes, head on straight! I don’t want to hear or read about any more cell phone whine fests from Pettitte, Jeter, Mo, and Posada to Joe Torre about Joe Girardi, period! He was consistently bad in the last half of ’08, justifying the new deal. And I still add his guaranteed deal doesn’t guarantee him a slot in the rotation.

[22] Didn’t they refuse to do that with Posada’s games caught clauses in the past and let him play to earn the most money? I would imagine it depends on what type of citizen Pettitte is in Spring Training, both as a person and a productive pitcher, getting with the Girardi program, or calling Torre every five minutes to long for the days of yesteryear.

In any event, I’m very glad they have an abundance of quality arms and innings at the ready in case of any injuries that may occur. Who knows? Maybe the book will piss all of them off enough to have another ’98 type campaign! I think I’d be pissed if my sanctuary and confidentiality of the clubhouse was violated in such a fashion. We’ll see…

By: MichiganYankee

MichiganYankee — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:24:19 +0000

The fun will begin if (and it’s a pretty huge if) all the starters remain healthy and Hughes is lights-out in Scranton. Will the Yanks have the guts to move Hughes into the rotation and demote Pettitte to long relief (thus knocking down his innings count and saving millions)?