*** OFFICIAL *** Baseball Offseason Moves (2006-07)... (1 Viewer)

[shadyridr]

Yanks and DBacks are close to that trade: Big Unit for 2 prospects and a middle reliever. All they are working on is the money angle (how much Yanks are willing to fork over) and then DBacks will sign him to a 1 year extension. I am loving this. I absolutely love this offseason for the Yanks. They got younger while keeping ARod and getting a few reliable starters perhaps.

 

[posty]

Foulke and Indians Finalize $5 Million, 1-year Deal

http://sports.iwon.com/news/01042007/v0708.html

CLEVELAND (AP) -Keith Foulke wants to be a closer again. The Cleveland Indians will give him the chance.

The free agent reliever finalized a $5 million, one-year contract with the club Thursday, a deal both sides hope turns into a longer partnership.

"Keith was looking to close," his agent Dan Horwits said. "He had a few other opportunities but he liked what Cleveland had to offer. He's excited."

Foulke's deal includes about $2 million in performance bonuses and a mutual option for 2008.

Bothered by assorted injuries the past two seasons in Boston, Foulke lost his closer's job last year when the Red Sox decided to go with rookie Jonathan Papelbon. Foulke went 3-1 with a 4.35 ERA but no saves in 44 games and missed two months with elbow tendinitis.

However, the 34-year-old made 11 straight appearances in September without giving up a run, a stretch that encouraged the Indians to take a long look at him as an option to close games in 2007.

Earlier this week, the Indians had Foulke take a physical before finalizing his deal.

He will compete in spring training with Joe Borowski for the club's vacant closer job. Foulke is the fourth veteran reliever signed to one-year deal by Cleveland this winter, joining Borowski, Roberto Hernandez and Aaron Fultz. Only Fultz, a left-handed setup man, lacks closing experience.

The Indians' bullpen had the fewest saves (24) in the majors last season.

"Cleveland pursued Keith for the entire offseason and that meant a lot to him," Horwits said. "The Indians also have a good, experienced team capable of making it to the playoffs and Keith knows once you get there anything can happen."

Two years ago, Foulke helped the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years.

After saving 32 games during the regular season, the right-hander went 1-0 in the postseason and was on the mound when Boston completed its four-game sweep of St. Louis to win it all.

Foulke made $7.5 million with the Red Sox last year, but they did not pick up his club option after the season. He rejected a $5.25 million player's option to stay in Boston.

He also has pitched for San Francisco, the Chicago White Sox and Oakland. Foulke was an All-Star in 2003 when he led the AL with 43 saves for the Athletics.

 

[Michael Brown]

Yanks and DBacks are close to that trade: Big Unit for 2 prospects and a middle reliever. All they are working on is the money angle (how much Yanks are willing to fork over) and then DBacks will sign him to a 1 year extension. I am loving this. I absolutely love this offseason for the Yanks. They got younger while keeping ARod and getting a few reliable starters perhaps.

It's done and has been presented to the commissioner's office for approvalhttp://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Au7V...p&type=lgns

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.

They've had a great off-season for sure.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Vizcaino is very solid reliver...

Better than league average pretty much every year and pretty reasonable (less than $2 million last year)...

 

[ThisGuy]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

 

[Bogart]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

 

[Eephus]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

A bunch of question marks. CM Wang and Mussina are good regression candidates for 2007. Pavano may be the next guy to leave. I wonder if the Boss is willing to throw money at Clemens again.

 

[ThisGuy]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

Shaky at best?!? And this is coming from a Rangers fan!!!! Wang is as solid as they come.If Moose and Andy can keep their ERA's around 4.00, they will be fine.Igawa is a complete mystery.If Pavano ( ) can pitch, he will more than likely be traded prior to the start of the season.Rasner and Karstens proved they can pitch in the bigs last year. One of these guys should hold down the #5 spot.Not the best, but certainly not shaky!

 

[pelland]

A bunch of question marks. CM Wang and Mussina are good regression candidates for 2007. Pavano may be the next guy to leave. I wonder if the Boss is willing to throw money at Clemens again.

I think they will do everything they can to get one more run out the Rocket.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

If Pavano ( ) can pitch, he will more than likely be traded prior to the start of the season.

Lots of talk about him possibly going to the Cardinals. If the choice is rolling the dice with Pavano or moving Looper into the rotation, I think I'm going to choose to suffocate on my own vomit.

 

[pelland]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

If Pavano ( ) can pitch, he will more than likely be traded prior to the start of the season.

Lots of talk about him possibly going to the Cardinals. If the choice is rolling the dice with Pavano or moving Looper into the rotation, I think I'm going to choose to suffocate on my own vomit.

There was talk early in the offseason of converting Scott Proctor to a starter. I have not heard much on this lately.

 

[ThisGuy]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

If Pavano ( ) can pitch, he will more than likely be traded prior to the start of the season.

Lots of talk about him possibly going to the Cardinals. If the choice is rolling the dice with Pavano or moving Looper into the rotation, I think I'm going to choose to suffocate on my own vomit.

 

[Michael Brown]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

Yanks haven't had a scary rotation since 2003, and I think this year's stacks up very nicely. No one believes in Wang and probably never will no matter how good he proves to be, and not many teams can boast Andy Pettitte/Mike Mussina as a #3 (depending on how you rank them). Plus I assume Clemens is on the way anyway, which further enhances the starting staff. Perhaps most importantly, they've also got some quality bullpen arms which will help to ease the pressure on the starting staff.It's not the best I've seen, but it compares favorably to most teams in the league (something that couldn't be said a lot the past few years).

 

[TLEF316]

Great deal for the Yanks. Can't believe they suckered the Dbacks into agreeing to only $2M coming back.They've had a great off-season for sure.

This is usually a trade the Yanks are on the wrong side of.

Boy that Yankee rotation looks shaky at bestWangMooseAndy PJapanese #2 Pitcher????Not the scary rotation they are use to having.

Shaky at best?!? And this is coming from a Rangers fan!!!! Wang is as solid as they come.If Moose and Andy can keep their ERA's around 4.00, they will be fine.Igawa is a complete mystery.If Pavano ( ) can pitch, he will more than likely be traded prior to the start of the season.Rasner and Karstens proved they can pitch in the bigs last year. One of these guys should hold down the #5 spot.Not the best, but certainly not shaky!

dont forget a likely appearnce from at least one of phillip hughes and humberto sanchez in the 2nd half.

 

[shadyridr]

Yankees pitching might not be upper echelon but its certainly good enough. Big Unit was a waste. Anybody know anything about the DBacks prospects? Not that it matters cuz I wouldve taken a bag of balls for Johnson but 3 prospects AND Vizcaino AND only dishing out $2M? Probably not great prospects.

Also, the Yanks signed Doug Mentkiewycz to a $1.5M deal. Im not too crazy about this. True, they were looking for a good defensive 1B but he cant hit a lick and hes a lefty hitting 1B. They have way too many lefty hitters. Ideally they shouldve gotten a righty hitting 1B.

Anyway, I love this offseason so far for the Yanks. Best offseason in years.

 

[Eephus]

Yankees pitching might not be upper echelon but its certainly good enough. Big Unit was a waste. Anybody know anything about the DBacks prospects? Not that it matters cuz I wouldve taken a bag of balls for Johnson but 3 prospects AND Vizcaino AND only dishing out $2M? Probably not great prospects.

John Sickels grades both Gonzalez and Ohlendorf as C+ prospects.Gonzalez hit 290/356/392 at the AA level and supposedly has a decent SS glove. Ohlendorf's minor league numbers aren't overwhelming. He gives up a lot of hits but had a 4:1 K/BB ratio last year.

 

[Capella]

Yankees pitching might not be upper echelon but its certainly good enough.

No it's not.

 

[shadyridr]

Yankees pitching might not be upper echelon but its certainly good enough.

No it's not.

How many teams have a better 1,2,3 than the Yankees? Id say no more than 5.

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

 

[Capella]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Well, all four of those teams are in the AL and a few will likely be in the playoffs.What exactly is the Yanks rotation "good enough" to do then?

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Well, all four of those teams are in the AL and a few will likely be in the playoffs.What exactly is the Yanks rotation "good enough" to do then?

Good enough considering their offense

 

[Capella]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Well, all four of those teams are in the AL and a few will likely be in the playoffs.What exactly is the Yanks rotation "good enough" to do then?

Good enough considering their offense

Apparently you haven't been paying attention lately.

 

[Statorama]

Yanks and DBacks are close to that trade: Big Unit for 2 prospects and a middle reliever. All they are working on is the money angle (how much Yanks are willing to fork over) and then DBacks will sign him to a 1 year extension. I am loving this. I absolutely love this offseason for the Yanks. They got younger while keeping ARod and getting a few reliable starters perhaps.

Ask any Brewer fan about Vizcaino. There will be no smiles.Good salary dump though. Never in my life thought I'd say that about Johnson. I saw him in his prime, and he was devistating.

 

[wilked]

Not a bad deal for the Yankees, but they screwed up in not getting Owings from AZ...not sure what they were thinking there

Overall a pure salary dump. Regardless of what rose-colored-glasses Yankees fans will say though this definitely weakens the rotation. They better hope they get Clemens

Lastly, the DBacks boards say Yanks send $4MM, not that it makes a big difference

 

[LTsharks]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

 

[ThisGuy]

Not a bad deal for the Yankees, but they screwed up in not getting Owings from AZ...not sure what they were thinking thereOverall a pure salary dump. Regardless of what rose-colored-glasses Yankees fans will say though this definitely weakens the rotation. They better hope they get ClemensLastly, the DBacks boards say Yanks send $4MM, not that it makes a big difference

I agree about Owings.I disagree about weakening the rotation. Rasner and Karstens could give you a 5.00 ERA while learning on the job, and cost 1/100 what Johnson did. I'm not thrilled about possibly getting Roger. This does put the Yanks in the position to acquire an arm come August if they need to. More depth at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, more payroll to work with.

 

[Sammy3469]

Not a bad deal for the Yankees, but they screwed up in not getting Owings from AZ...not sure what they were thinking there

Overall a pure salary dump. Regardless of what rose-colored-glasses Yankees fans will say though this definitely weakens the rotation. They better hope they get Clemens

Lastly, the DBacks boards say Yanks send $4MM, not that it makes a big difference

I agree about Owings.I disagree about weakening the rotation. Rasner and Karstens could give you a 5.00 ERA while learning on the job, and cost 1/100 what Johnson did. I'm not thrilled about possibly getting Roger.

This does put the Yanks in the position to acquire an arm come August if they need to. More depth at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, more payroll to work with.

For the life of me I don't see why this matters, at all. If I'm paying $150 dollars a seat I damn sure don't want to be watching Rasner or Karstens "learn on the job"...and saying that rotation is good enough is probably true for the regular season, but in the playoffs it's another story...oh and I can't wait for Torre to burn out his pen by the beginning of Sept again.

 

[ThisGuy]

Not a bad deal for the Yankees, but they screwed up in not getting Owings from AZ...not sure what they were thinking there

Overall a pure salary dump. Regardless of what rose-colored-glasses Yankees fans will say though this definitely weakens the rotation. They better hope they get Clemens

Lastly, the DBacks boards say Yanks send $4MM, not that it makes a big difference

I agree about Owings.I disagree about weakening the rotation. Rasner and Karstens could give you a 5.00 ERA while learning on the job, and cost 1/100 what Johnson did. I'm not thrilled about possibly getting Roger.

This does put the Yanks in the position to acquire an arm come August if they need to. More depth at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, more payroll to work with.

For the life of me I don't see why this matters, at all. If I'm paying $150 dollars a seat I damn sure don't want to be watching Rasner or Karstens "learn on the job"...and saying that rotation is good enough is probably true for the regular season, but in the playoffs it's another story...oh and I can't wait for Torre to burn out his pen by the beginning of Sept again.

At $150 a ticket I was sick of watching a Has Been get beat up in another important game. The Yanks are going back to what helped them with their latest dynasty. I have no problem with that.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

I don't know if I could have enjoyed this offseason for the Yankees anymore.

Maybe Donny coming out of retirement to play first - and then go on to hit .330 with 20/100 and get WS MVP honors and a ring and all will be right with the universe.

Sorry. I got caught in the moment.

 

[wilked]

Not sure why the Yanks fans turned on the Unit so much...he actually pitched very well for them last season

Guy pitched 205 innings last year, had very good peripherals...got very unlucky with runs scored.

FWIW Zips had him at 3.7 ERA for AL East next year

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/...w_york_yankees/

The key stat I saw was that Johnson’s BABIP with the bases empty was .239. With runners on, it was .369. This is almost certainly a matter of luck.

 

[Michael Brown]

Not sure why the Yanks fans turned on the Unit so much...he actually pitched very well for them last season

Guy pitched 205 innings last year, had very good peripherals...got very unlucky with runs scored.

FWIW Zips had him at 3.7 ERA for AL East next year

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/...w_york_yankees/

The key stat I saw was that Johnson’s BABIP with the bases empty was .239. With runners on, it was .369. This is almost certainly a matter of luck.

Or not being able to pitch out of the stretch. I'll be happy with this move if they get Clemens. Not sure what people have against a guy who is still dominating, albeit at a lesser portion of the season. If they don't get Clemens, however, I don't understand it. Now that Johnson had the surgery, one would assume he'd improve.

 

[wilked]

You have another documented case of a pitcher struggling like that out of the stretch?

Take Johnson's peripherals, and he should have had a sub 4 ERA last year. I expect him to have a sub-4 ERA this season also. Sure, he is old, has back problems, but the guy defies all age logic seemingly.

Overall it is a good long term move for the Yankees, but it does hurt them short term

 

[wilked]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

lmFao...sure buddy.

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Well, all four of those teams are in the AL and a few will likely be in the playoffs.What exactly is the Yanks rotation "good enough" to do then?

Good enough considering their offense

Apparently you haven't been paying attention lately.

Apparently you havent been paying attention to my thoughts on the Yankees in recent months. I said I want them to rebuild. Cashman is doing that right now while also still trying to stay competitive. Dont get me wrong Id love for them to win the whole thing this year but I really care more about the future. If they can get younger, stay away from long term contracts, trade the mercenaries they have (Johnson gone!, Shef gone!, Wright gone!, all thats left that Id love to get rid of is Giambi and Pavano), and still compete Id be happy. They got a top notch offense and their rotation is still top 5 in the AL. Thats enough to make the playoffs and then its a crapshoot.

 

[shadyridr]

Not a bad deal for the Yankees, but they screwed up in not getting Owings from AZ...not sure what they were thinking there

Overall a pure salary dump. Regardless of what rose-colored-glasses Yankees fans will say though this definitely weakens the rotation. They better hope they get Clemens

Lastly, the DBacks boards say Yanks send $4MM, not that it makes a big difference

I agree about Owings.I disagree about weakening the rotation. Rasner and Karstens could give you a 5.00 ERA while learning on the job, and cost 1/100 what Johnson did. I'm not thrilled about possibly getting Roger.

This does put the Yanks in the position to acquire an arm come August if they need to. More depth at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, more payroll to work with.

For the life of me I don't see why this matters, at all. If I'm paying $150 dollars a seat I damn sure don't want to be watching Rasner or Karstens "learn on the job"...and saying that rotation is good enough is probably true for the regular season, but in the playoffs it's another story...oh and I can't wait for Torre to burn out his pen by the beginning of Sept again.

At $150 a ticket I was sick of watching a Has Been get beat up in another important game. The Yanks are going back to what helped them with their latest dynasty. I have no problem with that.

Agreed 100%. Id much rather watch Karstens, Rasner, Hughes, or Sanchez, develop then a mercenary like Johnson.

 

[shadyridr]

You have another documented case of a pitcher struggling like that out of the stretch? Take Johnson's peripherals, and he should have had a sub 4 ERA last year. I expect him to have a sub-4 ERA this season also. Sure, he is old, has back problems, but the guy defies all age logic seemingly. Overall it is a good long term move for the Yankees, but it does hurt them short term

Can you check Wang's stats with runners on base? Just from watching the games it seems he is not as good out of the stretch. I think it has something to do with his delivery not being as deceptive out of the stretch.

 

[shadyridr]

I don't know if I could have enjoyed this offseason for the Yankees anymore.Maybe Donny coming out of retirement to play first - and then go on to hit .330 with 20/100 and get WS MVP honors and a ring and all will be right with the universe.Sorry. I got caught in the moment.

A+ offseason. They kept Torre, kept ARod, traded Sheff for a top notch prospect and other prospects, traded Johnson, got something for Wright, resigned Mussina to a cheap deal, signed Pettitte to a shortterm deal, kept Cabrera (so far).Worst thing theyve done so far is sign Doug Mientkiewycz.

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

 

[Nigel]

How does Mark Loretta only get $2.5 mil guaranteed in this market and if that was his market price why didn't the Sox resign him?

 

[shadyridr]

Of the three prospects in addition to Vizcaino - whom they view as a possible seventh-inning reliever - Ohlendorf is considered the prize. The 230-pound righty, described as “an absolute horse” by his college coach, ex-Yankee Scott Bradley, has a power sinker that should improve as he refines his breaking pitches. Ohlendorf pitched most of last year at Double-A and was a candidate to make the Diamondbacks out of spring training, but likely will start at Triple-A for the Yanks.

Steven Jackson, a 6-5 righthander who has been Ohlendorf's roommate in the Arizona system the last two years, was 8-11 with a 2.65 ERA in 24 starts at Double-A last season. The third prospect is Alberto Gonzalez, a slick-fielding shortstop.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

 

[wilked]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Ya, definitely not atrocious, but it is their weak link. Looks like Piniero deal is done...they will try and groom him as their closer. I am not banking on it, but it is an intersting option. Overall they may have a move left (Cordero?). More likely though they are going to see what happens with what they have. I have high hopes for MDC this season...am less convinced of Hansen (who will start in AAA anyway)

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Ya, definitely not atrocious, but it is their weak link. Looks like Piniero deal is done...they will try and groom him as their closer. I am not banking on it, but it is an intersting option. Overall they may have a move left (Cordero?). More likely though they are going to see what happens with what they have. I have high hopes for MDC this season...am less convinced of Hansen (who will start in AAA anyway)

I don't see Piniero is closer. That just doesn't sound realistic to me. I know they plan to evaluate it but I just can't see that being the guy they ultimately go to.I agree that there could be another move.

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Thats supposed to be your argument? 2 castoffs from the Angels and 2 young pitchers (and who knows if Hansen is ever gonna improve. He looked horrible last year). Not to mention I heard Tavarez may be the closer. Unless Piniero becomes closer instead. Huge improvement. Put it this way. There are only perhaps 2 pitchers out of the Sox bullpen Id take over ANY 2 of the Yankees bullpen pitchers (DelCarmen and Romero)

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Thats supposed to be your argument? 2 castoffs from the Angels and 2 young pitchers (and who knows if Hansen is ever gonna improve. He looked horrible last year). Not to mention I heard Tavarez may be the closer. Unless Piniero becomes closer instead. Huge improvement. Put it this way. There are only perhaps 2 pitchers out of the Sox bullpen Id take over ANY 2 of the Yankees bullpen pitchers (DelCarmen and Romero)

My argument is that they have added some depth to their bullpen. Donnelly and Romero should help.I don't see Tavarez or Pineiro as closer and would be pretty close to shocked if that happened.Their bullpen definately is improving. Once we know the closer for sure, we can properly evaulate it.

 

[Sammy3469]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Thats supposed to be your argument? 2 castoffs from the Angels and 2 young pitchers (and who knows if Hansen is ever gonna improve. He looked horrible last year). Not to mention I heard Tavarez may be the closer. Unless Piniero becomes closer instead. Huge improvement. Put it this way. There are only perhaps 2 pitchers out of the Sox bullpen Id take over ANY 2 of the Yankees bullpen pitchers (DelCarmen and Romero)

The Yanks pen isn't that great either...after Rivera there isn't much there besides Proctor and Farnsworth and I have complete faith in Torre burning them out by Sept 1.

 

[shadyridr]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Thats supposed to be your argument? 2 castoffs from the Angels and 2 young pitchers (and who knows if Hansen is ever gonna improve. He looked horrible last year). Not to mention I heard Tavarez may be the closer. Unless Piniero becomes closer instead. Huge improvement. Put it this way. There are only perhaps 2 pitchers out of the Sox bullpen Id take over ANY 2 of the Yankees bullpen pitchers (DelCarmen and Romero)

The Yanks pen isn't that great either...after Rivera there isn't much there besides Proctor and Farnsworth and I have complete faith in Torre burning them out by Sept 1.

I agree with you on the burning out part. Thats been Torre's biggest negative as Yankees manager. But the Yanks have more to their bullpen than that.Their bullpen right now looks like this:Brian Bruney (was unhittable last year, still not sure why Arizona released him, throws high 90's)Kyle Farnsworth (shaky)Mike Myers (a top notch lefty specialist)Scott Proctor (when not burnt out was among the best MRs in baseball)Mariano Rivera (the best closer ever)Luis Vizcaino (solid)And then probably one of these for depth:Jose Veras (Yanks are VERY high on him, has wicked stuff)T.J. Beam (meh)Chris Britton (fat)Jeff Karstens (probably better as a long man)Darrell Rasner (above average stuff)

 

[ThisGuy]

Teams with a better rotation than the Yankees: BOS, CHW, DET, LAA

Boston? I don't see it.

Boston's bullpen is atrocious but their rotation is definately better than the Yanks

Atrocious?They added Donnelly and Romero and count on both Del Carmen and Hanson to improve. Papelbon could still end up the closer, nothing is definate yet.Im not sure I would call it atrocious and it may not be complete yet anyway.

Thats supposed to be your argument? 2 castoffs from the Angels and 2 young pitchers (and who knows if Hansen is ever gonna improve. He looked horrible last year). Not to mention I heard Tavarez may be the closer. Unless Piniero becomes closer instead. Huge improvement. Put it this way. There are only perhaps 2 pitchers out of the Sox bullpen Id take over ANY 2 of the Yankees bullpen pitchers (DelCarmen and Romero)

The Yanks pen isn't that great either...after Rivera there isn't much there besides Proctor and Farnsworth and I have complete faith in Torre burning them out by Sept 1.

I agree with you on the burning out part. Thats been Torre's biggest negative as Yankees manager. But the Yanks have more to their bullpen than that.Their bullpen right now looks like this:Brian Bruney (was unhittable last year, still not sure why Arizona released him, throws high 90's)Kyle Farnsworth (shaky)Mike Myers (a top notch lefty specialist)Scott Proctor (when not burnt out was among the best MRs in baseball)Mariano Rivera (the best closer ever)Luis Vizcaino (solid)And then probably one of these for depth:Jose Veras (Yanks are VERY high on him, has wicked stuff)T.J. Beam (meh)Chris Britton (fat)Jeff Karstens (probably better as a long man)Darrell Rasner (above average stuff)

Vizcaino and Britton were added so they wouldn't have to burn Proctor out again. Proctor may take over the 8th for Farnsworth this year should he continue to struggle. The pen is improved over last year and has younger arms as well.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Cards re-sign Mulder

2 years, $13 mil guaranteed.

It isn't in this article, but ESPN just reported the first two years are w/incentives based largely on innings pitched. Team option for a 3rd year w/ that salary determined by the incentives he reaches. ESPN said it could reach as much as $45 mil over the 3 years.

I haven't been the biggest Mulder fan since the trade, but given what other guys have signed for, this isn't a horrible deal.