Baseball offseason, let's get ready for 2014.

[EagerBeaver]

Actually, not really accurate, as Cano offered the Yankees a "hometown discount" of $235,000,000, which was refused, so he did want to come back for less money:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...ankees-not-angry-robinson-cano-felt-sorry-him

But that discount is all of 2%, which is equivalent to the amount of the deductible in a Hurricane policy. So it is kind of like losing your house in a Hurricane and your insurance company telling you that they will waive the deductible. I don't think that will warm the cockles of most people's hearts, and the Yankees were probably entitled to a bigger discount than that. There are reports that the Yankees were prepared to go $200,000,000/8 years. The final verdict is out on the deal but i doubt he will be in Seattle more than 3 years.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The final verdict is out on the deal but i doubt he will be in Seattle more than 3 years.

I'd like to know on what you're basing this delusional horseshit? The lack of pride, guts and determination in the Pacific Northwest.

Winter Scorecard: Yankee Bullpen:

Losses: Mariano Rivera, Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain
Additions: None

Winter Scorecard: Yankee Starting Rotation

Losses: Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes
Additions: None

Will somebody wake up Brian Cashdollar and ask him, "Since the Yankees appear to be punting the 2014 season, why sign Ellsbury and Beltran." Perhaps someone told him Beltran's a pitcher.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I'd like to know on what you're basing this

You really are not very well informed. Have you read this? This is one of the more dysfunctional organizations in baseball.

http://seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2022420240_mariners08xml.html

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You really are not very well informed. Have you read this? This is one of the more dysfunctional organizations in baseball.

Yes, I read it. So what? What does that have to do with Cano and his contract? You do realize, don't you, that the owners of the Mariners could buy and sell the Steinbrothers about 80 times? Cano's contract is pocket change to them.

 

[EagerBeaver]

You don't get it. It's not about the owners having money, it's about Cano being happy with a team that sucks with no leadership. He is not used to losing. He will demand out within 3 years tops.

By the ways if the Mariners have so much money why was their payroll $100 million and why do they keep trading something for nothing the last 3 years?

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You don't get it. It's not about the owners having money, it's about Cano being happy with a team that sucks with no leadership. He is not used to losing. He will demand out within 3 years tops.

Not used to losing? Well, not since September anyway. He's a 7 year veteran, with one ring. BTW, given their penchant to spend and their considerably deeper farm system, the future for the Mariners is considerably brighter than that for the Yankees.

By the ways if the Mariners have so much money why was their payroll $100 million and why do they keep trading something for nothing the last 3 years?

For example? I do recall one trade where they traded nothing for nothing. (Pineda/Montero.)

 

[Joe.t]

Quote from today's press conference introducing Ellsbury-

"Ellsbury is two years removed from an outstanding 2011 season in which he slugged a career-high 32 homers, and he agreed that the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium will be enticing. Ellsbury added that he also will appreciate the passion of New York's fan base."

I think that it's safe to say that 25-30 HR is almost a given, he also looks a little thicker, it looks to me like he has been hitting the weights.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb...md=20131212&content_id=64624290&vkey=news_mlb

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I think that it's safe to say that 25-30 HR is almost a given, he also looks a little thicker, it looks to me like he has been hitting the weights.

And I think it's safe to say that you sound a little thicker.

 

[Special K]

Ohhhhh Robbie Cano say it ain't so!!!!!! Deadbeat dad disgrace can't even make his $600/month child support payments!! What a loser!!!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/240-million-dead-beat-cano-striking-dad-article-1.1546458

 

[lgna69xxx]

Welcome To The Boogie Down Bronx #22

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Boogie down Bronx?? Boogie down Bronx?? Well, I guess we know where iggy's not from.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ!

There are reports that the Yankees were prepared to go $200,000,000/8 years. The final verdict is out on the deal but i doubt he will be in Seattle more than 3 years.

That just points out how much it was about the money over being a Yankee. If as you say he was with a team that competes every year, and we all know that with A-Rod well on his way to being a near useless cheat Cano was the heir to being the most loved Yankee icon, then it speaks to how deeply it was about greed for every penny even though he had already made almost $58 million through 2013. It's not that everyone should be as generous as Pedroia, but why leave what you say was a great situation for a poor one when the $180 million the Yanks did offer would have given him $238 total in his career. It's very greedy.

Still it's just as much the Yankees fault. Not only did they give A-Rod the monster contract of all time, they renegotiated contracts for bigger amounts for both Rodriguez and Sabathia. They caved in to greed, so based on that why shouldn't Cano get what he wants and walk if he doesn't.

Ellsbury...it looks to me like he has been hitting the weights.

:lol: As I "guaranteed", Joe's already working hard to whitewash his own steroid accusations.

Welcome To The Boogie Down Bronx #22

Jacoby hasn't done anything more than spread a little ink and I see the twins can't stop themselves from sucking his pinstripes already.

Ohhhhh Robbie Cano say it ain't so!!!!!! Deadbeat dad disgrace can't even make his $600/month child support payments!! What a loser!!!

Holy Crap!!! Cano made $58 million as of last year and he only pays $600/month to his kids? American families in poverty make more than that. He could afford to give those kids $600/day ($216,000/year) and still barely feel a scratch on what he has made. Let's not see any of that Dominican Republic standards of living crap either. I had thought Cano was just getting his due according to past Yankee contracts for the top level players, but now he looks like a shallow uncaring scumbag.

Wow,

Merlot

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

That just points out how much it was about the money.

Well, of course it was about the money, but the simple fact is that Cano is more likely to "earn" his $240M than Ellsbury is his $153M.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Joe.t]

Jim Bowden of ESPN(I know, I know rumples, you have never heard of him) has given the Yankees a B+ for an offseason score, you can add him to the long list of professional baseball analysts that like what the Yankees have done this offseason.

Also it seems that Tampa is asking for Blue Jays pitching prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman in exchange for David Price which the Blue Jays are unwilling to give up, I personally would pull the trigger.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/toronto_blue_jays/

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Jim Bowden of ESPN(I know, I know rumples, you have never heard of him) has given the Yankees a B+ for an offseason score, you can add him to the long list of professional baseball analysts that like what the Yankees have done this offseason

The Yankees have done a wonderful job. Let's see. They've replaced Pettitte with _________. They've replaced Hughes with _________. They've replaced Rivera with _________. They've replaced Logan with _________. They've replaced Chamberlain with _________.

 

[Special K]

Rumples, don't let facts get in the way of Joe.t's fantasy, c'mon now, that's being mean!!

 

[Joe.t]

Jim Bowden(ESPN), Richard Justice(MLB.COM), Jim Duquette(MLB.COM), C.J Nitkowsk(MLB.COM), etc are so well respected in the baseball world that a couple of well known companies pay them big salaries so that they can give there objective, expert, opinion, this is a fact.

BTW, the offseason is not over, I think that we are in for a few more surprises.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

BTW, the offseason is not over, I think that we are in for a few more surprises.

Like Dontrelle Willis?

This from Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports:

The Yankees’ holiday shopping has been star-studded, expensive and controversial. The price tag of the four costliest new contracts — Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Hiroki Kuroda — is roughly $300 million.


The Yankees’ holiday shopping has been star-studded, expensive and controversial. The price tag of the four costliest new contracts — Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Hiroki Kuroda — is roughly $300 million.

And yet the Yankees’ offseason grade remains, at best, an Incomplete.

Now that the winter meetings are over, it’s helpful to look at the Yankees’ roster — or any team’s roster, for that matter — and ask what their lineup and pitching staff would look like if they needed to play a game today. By that measure, the 2014 Yankees don’t look that much better than the injury-ravaged edition that won 85 games this year.

Yes, the Yankees are certain to score more than the 650 runs they produced this year — their lowest output in more than two decades. Outside of losing embittered second baseman Robinson Cano to Seattle, the changes are net positives: McCann for Chris Stewart at catcher; Ellsbury, Beltran and Alfonso Soriano (a late-season trade) for Vernon Wells, Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner across the outfield and designated hitter spots.

But while general manager Brian Cashman’s moves have been defensible, he has done little to address a mediocre pitching staff. The roster still has too many aging, declining, injury-prone players. In an American League East with the defending world champion Red Sox and perpetually competitive Rays, the Yankees’ path to October involves an uncomfortably high number of baseball miracles.

Look at the infield using the aforementioned game-in-December test. Shortstop Derek Jeter (17 games in 2013) and first baseman Mark Teixeira (15 games) are penciled in for everyday roles after missing nearly all of this year with injuries that involved surgery. Cano’s tentative replacement at second is journeyman Kelly Johnson; the Yankees offered free-agent infielder Omar Infante a three-year, $24 million contract before he signed with the Kansas City Royals.

Then there’s third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who could miss the entire season because of a performance-enhancing drug suspension. The Yankees would benefit financially if they don’t have to pay his $25 million salary. But then they’d need to replace him — at a position where they have a dearth of internal options. A-Rod is the only player on the 40-man roster who started more than 20 games at third base in the majors this year.

The greatest worry, though, is on the mound. Kuroda’s return was essential; he’s one of only 10 pitchers to average at least 200 innings over the past three seasons while maintaining an ERA below 3.25. He has been the Yankees’ best pitcher during that time — a distinction that once belonged to CC Sabathia, who’s coming off the worst season of his career (14-13, 4.78 ERA).

At present, the Yankees’ rotation ranks no better than third in the AL East. (The Rays could trade David Price, as expected, and still have a superior starting five.) It’s hard to imagine the Yankees contending unless they land a high-end free-agent starter: Masahiro Tanaka (if he’s available via the posting system), Ervin Santana or the mercurial Matt Garza. That would allow Ivan Nova, who had an encouraging second half, to settle in as the No. 4 starter, while Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno and Michael Pineda participate in a spring derby for the fifth spot.

We should be able to mention the possibility of Cashman dealing for a top-of-the-rotation arm like Price or the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija, but the Yankees’ most-hyped prospects (Tyler Austin, Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances) have suffered injuries and/or performed below expectations in recent years. In terms of the franchise’s long-term health, that story might be even more important than losing Cano to the Mariners.

With a better farm system, the Yankees could field a championship-caliber team for less than their mythical $189 million payroll limit. They would be able to promote a low-cost replacement for Cano or package a few prospects for the ace pitcher they covet. Instead, they’re faced with the possibility of spending more than $100 million on Tanaka. That’s the penalty of failing to develop high-impact talent.

The bullpen is a concern, too, as the Yankees face their first season without Mariano Rivera in nearly two decades. Even if they’re ready to turn to in-house candidate David Robertson as Rivera’s successor, the Yankees need to add two late-inning arms between now and Opening Day.

Yes, right-handers Shawn Kelley and Preston Claiborne have shown promise. But if Kelley and Claiborne are ready for more prominent roles — which is far from certain — manager Joe Girardi must find new relievers to account for the middle innings they threw in 2013. And for a newly budget-conscious franchise, this is a bad winter to be looking for relief help. The high guarantees for free agents Joe Smith ($15.75 million) and ex-Yankee Boone Logan ($16.5 million) tell you that much.

Are the Yankees having a bad offseason? No. Cashman is doing a fine job. But his work is far from over. Rare is the team that spends $300 million and remains this far from looking like a viable contender.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

This might be the funniest thing (not written by Joe) that I've seen all week. From MLBTR:

"The Yankees' interest in Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney could pick up following the Royals' four-year, $30.25MM deal with Omar Infante, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets. Levine says the two teams have previously discussed Barney, who's considered a strong defender but hit just .208/.266/.303 in 2013."

Darwin Barney's gonna replace Robinson Cano?? Darwin .208 Barney?? That's just too hilarious. Now who's gonna replace Jeter? Mario Mendoza? Rodriguez? Adeiny Hechavarria?