Results tagged ‘ Johnny Damon ’
“Concerns”
Is it possible for a team fresh off a World Series championship to have “glaring concerns” heading into its title defense?
If you’re a fan of the Yankees, apparently it is.
I understand that lots of Yankees fans wanted to keep the team intact; I was one of them as well. I get that up until now our unspoken M.O. was “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But considering the moves that Brian Cashman has made — turning Melky Cabrera/Phil Coke/Ian Kennedy/Austin Jackson into Curtis Granderson/Javy Vazquez, while also bringing back Nick Johnson — it’s difficult to be upset that the team is a little bit better heading into the 2010 season.
Of course, it’s never that easy in the Yankee Universe. Many fans are still worried about the make-up of team. With that in mind, let’s take a look at these “concerns”:
LEFT FIELD
Fans’ reason for concern: Basically, Brett Gardner isn’t Johnny Damon. Apparently having a slightly below-average bat hitting 9th in an otherwise-loaded lineup is a detriment.
Smoov’s response: Who gives a s*** cares if he doesn’t have Damon’s bat? Gardner adds the element of blazing speed and is a far superior defender. They didn’t keep him over Melky for no reason, people.
FIFTH STARTER
Fans: Again, real simple: Some are spoiled by the success of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in the bullpen to the point that there is little confidence in either man as a starter.
Smoov: Joba and Phil have both shown what they can do in the starting rotation. Both are better than any other option out on the market right now. People, have patience with these two — Joba will have learned from his mistakes and Phil needs to have a Joba-type season. Let them battle it out for the spot, and deal with the decision.
BENCH
Fans: There’s a lack of firepower/versatility with Eric Hinske and Jerry Hairston Jr. signing elsewhere.
Smoov: Two things: first, the Yankees rarely use their bench during the game. It really doesn’t matter who’s on the bench now because it’ll likely change during the course of the season. Second, this isn’t the NBA where the sixth man has just as much impact as the starting five. IT’S THE BENCH OF AN AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAM. Stop worrying.
Bottom line: these aren’t major concerns to be worried about heading into Spring Training. We may not like every move that Ca$hMoney makes, but we as fans have got to look on the bright side and trust in our staff that the team put on the field will defend its championship.
If Cashman and Girardi aren’t worried, why should you be?
Left Field
With all the moves that were made in the last month of 2009, the Yankees have one last issue to deal with — an issue that really isn’t as monumental as most fans are making it out to be:
Who’s in LF?
By now you probably know that Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are no longer options to man left field in Yankee Stadium. You also may have heard that the man who would likely have been there on Opening Day — Melky Cabrera — was dealt to Atlanta for Javier Vazquez. While there was a rather large uproar over the latter move, Leche was expendable with the acquisition of Curtis Granderson and the pending free agency of Rays LF Carl Crawford after this coming season.
With this in mind, you’re probably wondering who the remaining options are. Let’s take a look:
BRETT GARDNER — Easily the leading in-house candidate. With a 2009 slash line of .270/.345/.379 the man Pete Abraham dubbed “GGBG” showed that he is capable of being an average offensive player. However it is his speed and defense that will pay huge dividends for the 2010 Yankees. With a career 87% SB percentage (39-for-45) he is always a threat to steal a base and can score from 1B on a double or 2B on a single with ease. Defensively Gardner is considered be many to be more fundamentally sound than Melky and also has a penchant for the fantastic play.
CURTIS GRANDERSON — The dark-horse candidate. Although Brian Cashman traded for him to be the starting centerfielder, I would not put it past Girardi to have Granderson in LF and Gardner in CF for this season. He is essentially Gardner with the type of power that translates better to LF than CF. While playing LF isn’t the primary purpose, Girardi can’t go wrong with having Granderson tracking down fly balls in Death Valley.
JAMIE HOFFMANN — The long-shot. A relative unknown, he was acquired from the Nationals for Brian Bruney as the #1 pick in the Rule 5 Draft. Hoffmann is a right-handed bat who can add some pop to the lineup should he make the Opening Day roster in any capacity.
JOHNNY DAMON — The wild-card. Scott Boras overplayed his hand at the start of free agency, almost certainly costing his client a big payday. Now with Bay and Holliday signed Damon is the top position player available, but is scrambling for a suitor. The Yankees, however, have played this very well and could have Damon crawling back to them for an offer significantly lower than what he was originally seeking.
There you have it, boys and girls — your options to play LF for the defending World Series champs. Who would you choose? Is there anyone I’m forgetting? Hopefully we can discuss this further in the comments section.
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I hope that everyone enjoyed a safe and pleasant holiday. Let’s make this new decade a memorable one! OH-TEN, WE GON’ DO IT AGAIN!!!!!
The Grinches Who Stole The Yankees’ Christmas
I don’t generally like doing posts like this, especially on the heels of a World Series championship AND Christmas Eve. But desperate times call for desperate numbers, so here goes:
Stop b*tching, Yankees fans. Brian Cashman knows what he’s doing.
Of everything that has happened since November 4th, the only move I can honestly say I strongly disagreed with was letting World Series MVP Hideki Matsui leave for Los Angeles (see how I dealt with it here). But even that won’t get me down about the team that Ca$hMoney is putting together for 2010. How can anyone not like adding a 28-year-old CF in his prime (Curtis Granderson), a 31-year-old DH who gets on base like Glen Quagmire gets laid (Nick Johnson), and a 33-year-old innings-eater who just might be the best #4 SP in baseball (Javier Vazquez)?
It’s like wanting to date Jessica Alba when you’re married to Gabrielle Union.
All three players have well-publicized flaws — Granderson struggles
vs. LHP, Johnson is injury-prone and Vazquez hasn’t nearly been as
dominant in the AL as he’s been in the NL — but you can’t use these as
crutches when arguing against the moves. It only raises expectations to
unwarranted levels and doesn’t put them in a relaxed scenario to
succeed.
It is perfectly understandable that everyone wanted to keep the team intact, and I would’ve been cool with that. But Johnny Damon let Scott Boras overprice him, Matsui didn’t wait for Damon and jumped on the first offer he got because the Yankees felt his knees were completely shot, and Melky Cabrera was highly expendable with Carl Crawford becoming a free agent after the 2010 season. We just have to face facts: the moves that our GM makes our team younger and more dynamic for when the Yankees start their title defense on April 4th in Boston.
For once in your lives, try not to be such grinches about moves that the Yankees make just because you’re attached to those who will not be back. Give Curtis, Nick and Javy a chance — you won’t regret it.
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Make sure you be safe if you’re traveling and make sure you let your loved ones know how much you love them. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!! I’ll catch y’all in 2010!
Happy Holidays,
Smoov
A Grand Welcome
Brian Cashman has been very busy at the Winter Meetings. And he’s shown no signs of slowing down.
In the span of two days, Ca$hMoney has addressed two major roster issues. He was able to flip prized prospect Austin Jackson (along with Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy) into Curtis Granderson on Tuesday (the trade was finalized today), a move which should make it a little easier to bring back either Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui. On Wednesday, Andy Pettitte agreed to re-sign with the World Series champions for one year at $11.75M. The signing keeps the top 3 starting pitching tandem of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Pettitte intact for another year, meaning that Cashman is now in no rush to sign John Lackey or trade for Roy Halladay.
What’s not to love?
Now I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical of the trade when it was first agreed upon. I think Austin Jackson is going to be a stud in the majors and felt that he should’ve been saved for a bigger fish in the sea (see Halladay, Roy). I also didn’t deal too well with the fact that the Yankees didn’t receive either Max Scherzer or Daniel Schlereth from the Diamondbacks; it felt like we were flat-out robbed. And let’s not forget Granderson’s splits vs. LHP and the relatively low rate at which he reaches base (.327 OBP, 141 K last season). These are all valid red flags, no doubt.
However, there is also no denying Granderson’s ability. He’s got 30 HR power (I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits 40 at some point), he’s a threat to steal and can benefit from being around such patient hitters as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. And from what everyone is hearing from the writers who covered him in Detroit, Granderson is also a high-character guy who should have no problem adjusting to the bright lights and pressure of playing in New York City. Curits’ flaws are easily correctable, which should not be a problem working under the tutelage of hitting coach Kevin Long. I expect the Illinois native to have a very productive first year in the Bronx.
This mega-trade doesn’t mean that Cashman can’t re-sign either Damon or Matsui. There is still the possibility that one of the two can be brought back to be the DH on a short-term deal. It has been hinted at that the DH should be able to play the field, which favors Damon. However, Ca$hMoney wants that person to be signed at HIS price, which favors Godzilla; there is always reason to believe that Scott Boras, Damon’s agent, will be up to his old tricks in looking for a long-term deal — probably similar to the deal Damon just finished with the Yankees.
This all makes for one intriguing winter for the New York Yankees.
Is the apocalypse among us?
(WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY RESULT IN YOU GOING INTO A CATATONIC STATE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK FROM THIS POINT FORWARD!!!!!)
The New York Yankees plan to cut payroll for 2010.
I’m not kidding.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, general manager Brian Cashman has set next season’s payroll at approximately $185 million. That is about $23 million less than the $208 million spent on this season’s World Series champions. With $45 million coming off the books this winter (Andy Pettitte, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jose Molina, Jerry Hairston Jr., Eric Hinske and Xavier Nady), the Bombers are not likely to make as big a splash, if any at all, in the free agent market as they did last winter.
Dead serious.
This is a GREAT decision that Ca$hMoney and the Yankees brass are making. The market is relatively weak compared to last offseason, headlined by outfielders Jason Bay & Matt Holliday and starting pitcher John Lackey (all of whom were offered arbitration by their respective teams). While it is practical for us Yankees fans to hope that team brass gets the best players every year, we need to come full-circle and realize that there are some years where the Bombers can lay in the cut and let other teams go ga-ga over big-name free agents with a long-term goal in mind. The 2007-08 winter was one example (Cashman famously passed on trading for Johan Santana with CC Sabathia and Co. in mind). This winter should — and likely will — be another example.
Stop laughing.
Now, the same cannot be said for the trade market. Detroit CF Curtis Granderson and Toronto P Roy Halladay have been linked to the Yankees by various beat writers. The main problem with acquiring either player is the package that would be sent to the respective teams: a combination of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero as the centerpiece. In the pre-Joe Torre years, George Steinbrenner would probably have mandated that both men be fitted for pinstripes … by the end of the weekend. Now with another World Series in the books and a change of philosophy (sort of), the front office can sit back and thoroughly decide whether adding players like Granderson and Halladay would be beneficial or detrimental.
To keep it short (a later post will delve deeper), I would focus on re-signing Pettitte, Damon & Matsui and making smaller, under-the-radar moves to fill in the minor-yet-still-important roster spots. Hopefully the Yankees stand true to their (mildly surprisingly new) goal of shedding payroll and put on the field a product that will repeat as World Series champions.
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Make sure to keep up with me on Twitter (check out the sidebar on the right) and Facebook, as well as on 161st & River. I’d really love for my readers and fans to voice their opinions on my posts.
UPDATE — 12/5, 9:12 AM: Looks like the plan is to focus on Pettitte and Damon right away, according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News.
UPDATE — 12/9, 1:50 PM: Pettitte has re-signed at 1 year/$11.75M, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
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