Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[Facedown]

As shocking as it may come to you, Yankee fans, you DON'T get to tell the rest of the teams fans what they can and cannot bitch about. Get over it.

[Facedown]

I have never said a word about their spending. However, why does someone have to pick one? Because Yankee fans say so? Sorry, no.

[thejuggernaut]

The 2009 season will begin in about 10 weeks and once again
the Yankees have just one goal-

Win the World Series

That's the only goal we have. It's been 8 yrs since and about 5 yrs since
we lost the series to florida.

I'm tired of losing and last year was 'rock bottom' for me. Not making the playoffs. Does it get much worse than that? NOPE!!

So when are you reporting for spring training ?

[killeverything]

No, no, no.

I'm not bitching about the MFY buying everyone. I'm not bitching about how "they were the mystery team, that would've outbid Boston anyways" in the Teix dealings.

I think it's fucking hilarious, that the second Steinbrenner started trying to buy Championships......they became the little team that couldn't. Let them spend all they want. With revenue sharing it's helping the game.

I also find it hysterical that after dishing out 400m on the top three FAs out there. They want more tax-free bonds for new MFY Stadium. Robbing New Yorkers without a gun.

This to me makes a great story for the upcoming season. They made their team remarkably better. I think this will be a race all the way till the end with 3 teams. That is something I am looking forward to. Imagine if they miss the Playoffs again, much less don't win the WS. Something like they get the Angels in Playoffs or something.

We are on the verge of seeing what I think will one of the best seasons of all-time. I'm getting fucking pumped for it.




Truck day is on February 6th!!!!!!!!

[Machado]

No, no, no.

I'm not bitching about the MFY buying everyone. I'm not bitching about how "they were the mystery team, that would've outbid Boston anyways" in the Teix dealings.

I think it's fucking hilarious, that the second Steinbrenner started trying to buy Championships......they became the little team that couldn't. Let them spend all they want. With revenue sharing it's helping the game.

I also find it hysterical that after dishing out 400m on the top three FAs out there. They want more tax-free bonds for new MFY Stadium. Robbing New Yorkers without a gun.

This to me makes a great story for the upcoming season. They made their team remarkably better. I think this will be a race all the way till the end with 3 teams. That is something I am looking forward to. Imagine if they miss the Playoffs again, much less don't win the WS. Something like they get the Angels in Playoffs or something.

We are on the verge of seeing what I think will one of the best seasons of all-time. I'm getting fucking pumped for it.




Truck day is on February 6th!!!!!!!!

I'm fucking fired up already and it's only Jan 23rd.
I wish the season was starting early.
Expectations are very, very high for my Yankees in '09.

That being said, I don't envision the AL east to be a 3 team race.
I have a feeling the rays will not play nearly as well as last season.

Not only will they fail to "sneak up" on teams in '09, I feel that they will
fail to live up to the hype and instead faulter.

So bring on the fucking sox again and let's give the fans their money's worth.

[killeverything]

No, no, no.

I'm not bitching about the MFY buying everyone. I'm not bitching about how "they were the mystery team, that would've outbid Boston anyways" in the Teix dealings.

I think it's fucking hilarious, that the second Steinbrenner started trying to buy Championships......they became the little team that couldn't. Let them spend all they want. With revenue sharing it's helping the game.

I also find it hysterical that after dishing out 400m on the top three FAs out there. They want more tax-free bonds for new MFY Stadium. Robbing New Yorkers without a gun.

This to me makes a great story for the upcoming season. They made their team remarkably better. I think this will be a race all the way till the end with 3 teams. That is something I am looking forward to. Imagine if they miss the Playoffs again, much less don't win the WS. Something like they get the Angels in Playoffs or something.

We are on the verge of seeing what I think will one of the best seasons of all-time. I'm getting fucking pumped for it.




Truck day is on February 6th!!!!!!!!

I'm fucking fired up already and it's only Jan 23rd.
I wish the season was starting early.
Expectations are very, very high for my Yankees in '09.

That being said, I don't envision the AL east to be a 3 team race.
I have a feeling the rays will not play nearly as well as last season.

Not only will they fail to "sneak up" on teams in '09, I feel that they will
fail to live up to the hype and instead faulter.

So bring on the fucking sox again and let's give the fans their money's worth.

Bring it motherfucker.

Seriously though I hope your wrong about the Rays. Imagine how fucking awesome it would be with a 3 team race. Ratings, attendance, everything would be through the fucking roof. The only thing I think that won't be as good with Tampa this season is the BP. They were lights out last year. If David Price moves to the rotation as planned, will Percival still be the closer? Can he be?

This season will fucking rock.

[Machado]

No, no, no.

I'm not bitching about the MFY buying everyone. I'm not bitching about how "they were the mystery team, that would've outbid Boston anyways" in the Teix dealings.

I think it's fucking hilarious, that the second Steinbrenner started trying to buy Championships......they became the little team that couldn't. Let them spend all they want. With revenue sharing it's helping the game.

I also find it hysterical that after dishing out 400m on the top three FAs out there. They want more tax-free bonds for new MFY Stadium. Robbing New Yorkers without a gun.

This to me makes a great story for the upcoming season. They made their team remarkably better. I think this will be a race all the way till the end with 3 teams. That is something I am looking forward to. Imagine if they miss the Playoffs again, much less don't win the WS. Something like they get the Angels in Playoffs or something.

We are on the verge of seeing what I think will one of the best seasons of all-time. I'm getting fucking pumped for it.




Truck day is on February 6th!!!!!!!!

I'm fucking fired up already and it's only Jan 23rd.
I wish the season was starting early.
Expectations are very, very high for my Yankees in '09.

That being said, I don't envision the AL east to be a 3 team race.
I have a feeling the rays will not play nearly as well as last season.

Not only will they fail to "sneak up" on teams in '09, I feel that they will
fail to live up to the hype and instead faulter.

So bring on the fucking sox again and let's give the fans their money's worth.

Bring it motherfucker.

Seriously though I hope your wrong about the Rays. Imagine how fucking awesome it would be with a 3 team race. Ratings, attendance, everything would be through the fucking roof. The only thing I think that won't be as good with Tampa this season is the BP. They were lights out last year. If David Price moves to the rotation as planned, will Percival still be the closer? Can he be?

This season will fucking rock.

I know my Yankees play the chowder-heads around mid-April. I think it's a weekend series. Can not watch for the 1st of 18 games vs them.

You are right about the rays bp. That could be a weakness again for that team, but odds are the bp will never be as bad as it once was.

I don't care if it's a 3 team race or a 4 team race or a 5 team race.
BRING IT!!

[Hootchietoad]

He's upset about Texiera. If the Red Sox were smart enough to go from $160 to 180 million, there would be no discussion.

And instead of the Red Sox signing Smolz and Baldelli and all those guys, they should have just bought The Pirates.

if those chowder-heads would have offered
Texiera $1.5 million more per year, they might have been able to sign him.

Best two moves the Sox made in the past ten years were NOT getting A-Rod and Texiara. These guys will probably both put up great individual stats, but not win when it counts....neither has so far, so until they prove otherwise...keep the pie-holes shut. I have always maintained that A-Rod was great at being the big fish in the little pond (Seattle and Texas), but can't be the big fish in the big pond (NYC.) Deep down you know Yankee fans wish they had ONE player on their team with as much desire to play the game to win as Youk or Pedroia...I'll even give ya Jeter, then....?

[JakeYonkel]

Best two moves the Sox made in the past ten years were NOT getting A-Rod and Texiara. These guys will probably both put up great individual stats, but not win when it counts....neither has so far, so until they prove otherwise...keep the pie-holes shut. I have always maintained that A-Rod was great at being the big fish in the little pond (Seattle and Texas), but can't be the big fish in the big pond (NYC.) Deep down you know Yankee fans wish they had ONE player on their team with as much desire to play the game to win as Youk or
Pedroia...I'll even give ya Jeter, then....?

Posada. He's a tough guy and a gamer.

Fuck Youkilis. Pedroia's a nice little player, though. I saw him at Pawtucket a few years back and didn't think he'd amount to much.

Anyway, you can say it was a good move for Boston not getting A-Rod but at the time nobody would have killed them for it. It was the union that shot it down, anyway. Not like Boston wised up and chose not to pursue him.

As for Teixeira, jury is still out. A-Rod played on some good Seattle teams and couldn't win shit. And obviously his 5 Yankee years have produced nothing.

Tex, on the other hand played on a horrible Texas team and a pretty bad Atlanta team. LA was his best shot and while he put up great numbers with them in half a season, he's hardly the reason they lost in the playoffs this year - check his numbers in the division series.

[thejuggernaut]

Best two moves the Sox made in the past ten years were NOT getting A-Rod and Texiara. These guys will probably both put up great individual stats, but not win when it counts....neither has so far, so until they prove otherwise...keep the pie-holes shut. I have always maintained that A-Rod was great at being the big fish in the little pond (Seattle and Texas), but can't be the big fish in the big pond (NYC.) Deep down you know Yankee fans wish they had ONE player on their team with as much desire to play the game to win as Youk or
Pedroia...I'll even give ya Jeter, then....?

Posada. He's a tough guy and a gamer.

Fuck Youkilis. Pedroia's a nice little player, though. I saw him at Pawtucket a few years back and didn't think he'd amount to much.

Anyway, you can say it was a good move for Boston not getting A-Rod but at the time nobody would have killed them for it. It was the union that shot it down, anyway. Not like Boston wised up and chose not to pursue him.

As for Teixeira, jury is still out. A-Rod played on some good Seattle teams and couldn't win shit. And obviously his 5 Yankee years have produced nothing.

Tex, on the other hand played on a horrible Texas team and a pretty bad Atlanta team. LA was his best shot and while he put up great numbers with them in half a season, he's hardly the reason they lost in the playoffs this year - check his numbers in the division series.

LOL

The Yanks wish they had someone like Youk on their team.

[Hootchietoad]

Posada. He's a tough guy and a gamer.

Fuck Youkilis. Pedroia's a nice little player, though. I saw him at Pawtucket a few years back and didn't think he'd amount to much.

[quote=JakeYonkel]
Anyway, you can say it was a good move for Boston not getting A-Rod but at the time nobody would have killed them for it. It was the union that shot it down, anyway. Not like Boston wised up and chose not to pursue him.

As for Teixeira, jury is still out. A-Rod played on some good Seattle teams and couldn't win shit. And obviously his 5 Yankee years have produced nothing.

Tex, on the other hand played on a horrible Texas team and a pretty bad Atlanta team. LA was his best shot and while he put up great numbers with them in half a season, he's hardly the reason they lost in the playoffs this year - check his numbers in the division series.[/quote]

Eh, just adding fuel to the fire. Texieria had a great series against the Sox, too bad no one else could hit anything but a base hit, if I recall correctly. If he continues this way against Sox pitching we could be in trouble when playing the Yanks.

[killeverything]

One of the biggest difference between the Yankees and The Red Sox over the last few years has been the growth of Youklis/Pedroia versus Cano/Cabrera.

As a Yankee fan, along with all other Yankees fan, I was convinced that once Manny was traded, the Red Sox would be out and the Yankees would be in. Well one of the reasons it didn't happen was because of these two guys.

Its discussed every day on talk radio. People want a "Youklis" type guy. Or a "Pedroia" type guy. Just because they are Red Sox doesn't mean you can't give them the credit that's due them. I would take these two guys in a heartbeat.

A-Rod, for better or worse, will be the first all time baseball great position player to be judged by whether he wins or not. Nobody says Ty Cobb didn't win. Or Ted Williams was great but he didn't win. Or Ernie Banks, or Carl Yastrzmski or whomever. But with A-Rod they will.

Of course they will. 250 plus million dollars. No team is going to pay that kind of money, so he could very quite possibly become the new all-time HR king, while wearing their team's uniform. They pay it because he has a super-human set of baseball skills, that they think will net them a championship. Anything less of Arod never winning a WS ( which I hope he don't ) is a complete failure. "Afraud" is called that for a reason, and we don't need Torre's new ghost written book to tell us that.

[Facedown]

Seems a Yankees - Pettitte deal is back on again.

[killeverything]

Veteran righthander Freddy Garcia has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Mets, an industry source told Newsday on Thursday night.

The Mets beat out the Yankees for Garcia, who will compete for a rotation spot in spring training.

Garcia, 33, has pitched just 73 innings over the past two seasons after 2007 shoulder surgery. He made three starts for the Tigers in 2008 and went 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA. He was a 17-game winner for the White Sox in 2006, his last full season. His career record is 118-77.

Signing Garcia will not preclude the Mets from going after bigger fish such as Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets or Randy Wolf. If the Mets sign one of them, Garcia will compete with Tim Redding and Jon Niese for the fifth starter's job.

I don't know if this was posted before or not.

Good for Freddy I always liked him.


Still hate the fucking Mets though.

[Facedown]

Seems a Yankees - Pettitte deal is back on again.

Deal is reportedly 6mil with incentives that could bring it up to 12mil.

[Facedown]

Deal done for 5.5mil and another 6.5mil in incentives.

[killeverything]

Anyways, what are you guys doing with that $160 million that fell short by $1.25 million a year? Budgeting it towards Joe Mauer?

Good God I hope not.

When Mauer will be a free-agent ( 2012? ) is when Posada will more than likely be a full-time DH. We all know how bidding wars with NY usually go. Plus Mauer will have so much wear and tear on his knees by then, it's likely that he won't be an effective catcher for too terribly much longer after that.

Also since he's basically the face of the Twins franchise, and they have a new stadium opening in a couple of years. With the long overdue death of Carl Pohlad, they'll more than likely pull out the big guns to re-sign him.

[Facedown]

Sox make offer to Tek.
Reportedly, the deal would be worth $5 million in 2009, with a $5 million club option or $3 million player option for 2010. The offer comes with an unknown deadline, though, so it will not be left on the table.

[JakeYonkel]

If I was a Boston fan I'd be pissed that Varitek insulted my intelligence by stating he "didn't know" that if he declined arbitration, Boston would gain a draft pick if he signed elsewhere. Yeah, OK. I love how these guys always blame their agents for their own shitty or stupid decisions - him, Pettitte, etc.

[JakeYonkel]

Between the A-Rod fiasco last year, Kenny Rogers firing him, and some of his mis-reads this year (Varitek, Manny) Boras isn't doing so well. Shit, much better than any of us, but relatively speaking, of course.

Yeah, he got Teixeira a ton of money, but Tex was an elite guy.

He's grossly misplayed his hand with Varitek to the point where Varitek is going to be taking a huge pay cut when if he had just accepted arb he would likely have made well over $10M for 2009 on effectively a one-year deal.

Manny has been sitting on a 2 year $45M offer from the Dodgers since November that Boras initially deemed insulting. He's been trying to drum up interest using other teams (Yankees, Rangers, Giants) but it's been pretty apparent that the Dodgers are the only team seriously interested and are not going to be fooled into bidding against themselves.

[killeverything]

Between the A-Rod fiasco last year, Kenny Rogers firing him, and some of his mis-reads this year (Varitek, Manny) Boras isn't doing so well. Shit, much better than any of us, but relatively speaking, of course.

Yeah, he got Teixeira a ton of money, but Tex was an elite guy.

He's grossly misplayed his hand with Varitek to the point where Varitek is going to be taking a huge pay cut when if he had just accepted arb he would likely have made well over $10M for 2009 on effectively a one-year deal.

Manny has been sitting on a 2 year $45M offer from the Dodgers since November that Boras initially deemed insulting. He's been trying to drum up interest using other teams (Yankees, Rangers, Giants) but it's been pretty apparent that the Dodgers are the only team seriously interested and are not going to be fooled into bidding against themselves.

What the rumor is with Tek, is that he has 5 days to accept. Supposably the FO did it so it could help him save face a little.

Look I love what the guy has meant to the team, what he's accomplished, etc. Although he's done shit like this before. I damn sure don't buy the "I didn't know they'd loose a draft pick" bullshit. He fucked Minnesota when they drafted him in the first round, he didn't sign because he wanted more money. Agent: Scott Boras. When he signed with Seattle, he bitched and moaned that they lowballed his money. Agent: Scott Boras. It what got him traded to Boston.

Tek accepts or retires. He lost 10m guaranteed for he and Boras' greed. Manny lost 20m. For all the hate against Boras, he still has college prospects flocking to sign with him. There's no going away. Regardless of how his "misreads" have fucked players, that were already fucks to begin with ( Arod, Manny, Tek, etc. ). More teams need to take the Chi Sox stance, and refuse to negotiate with him.

Problem is. He has damn near all the elite players, and all the elite prospects. It's a catch-22.

[killeverything]

MVN ranks the top 10 2008/09 offseason moves here:

http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/01/mlb-top ... asons.html

Here's the top 5. Basically who'd you expect for the top 3. Especially #1. It's pretty dead-on IMO for the most part.

5. San Francisco Giants
Few GMs are the butt of more jokes than Brian Sabean, and after the contract he gave Barry Zito, he probably deserves it. However, Sabean has surprisingly put together a solid offseason, and the Giants could possibly be players in a weak NL West as a result. While guys like Edgar Renteria, Randy Johnson, and Bobby Howry may not be getting any younger, they should help improve a team that desperately needed improvement. Sabean gets criticized for not giving his youngsters a chance, but most of his youngsters won't be ready to contribute for another year or two, and short-term moves like these will help bridge that gap and keep the team competitive in the meantime.

4. Cleveland Indians
A lot of people stopped paying attention to the Indians once they traded away CC Sabathia last year, but few realize how heat the Tribe were by the end of the season. In a wide-open AL Central, the Indians realized that they may be able to compete again in 2009 even without Sabathia, and went out looking for ways to further improve an already solid club. Cleveland finally got a solid closer when they signed Kerry Wood early in the offseason, then got another good reliever in Joe Smith as part of the three-team J.J. Putz trade. They capped it off by acquiring another Chicago Cub, Mark DeRosa, in a New Year's Eve trade. Mark Shapiro earned great reviews for the return he got in the Sabathia trade, and only furthered that reputation as a good GM this offseason.

3. New York Mets
Sometimes all you have to do in order to have a successful offseason is address your biggest need. Omar Minaya and the Mets did that -- and then some -- this offseason, signing Francisco Rodriguez and trading for J.J. Putz to shore up the back end of their bullpen. Minaya also pieced together some underrated moves, signing Tim Redding away from Washington on a one-year deal and giving Freddy Garcia a minor league deal in hopes of strengthening the bottom of the rotation. There's still more work to be done -- like finally getting a contract done for Oliver Perez -- but the Mets seem to have addressed their pitching situation adequately enough to possibly contend for an NL East title.

2. Boston Red Sox
While the Yankees were throwing money around like they had a printing press stashed in the basement of the new stadium, the Red Sox patiently lurked in the shadows and searched for other ways to improve their team. They raided the bargain bin in January, inking guys like Rocco Baldelli, John Smoltz, Brad Penny, and Takashi Saito -- all guys who are very good, but have very large question marks heading into the year. You can't expect all of the moves to pan out, but the Red Sox have the resources to bite the bullet if those players are on the DL more than the active roster. Trading an expendable piece in Coco Crisp for a valuable bullpen arm -- Ramon Ramirez -- was also a very good move.

1. New York Yankees
Go ahead and criticize them for simply throwing money at their problems, but you can't deny that they've improved their roster heading into this upcoming season. Giving A.J. Burnett over $80 million when it looks like Ben Sheets is available for less than $20 million could be a mistake, but along with CC Sabathia (and, reportedly, the return of Andy Pettitte) he should help the Yankees stabilize their starting rotation. Suddenly, Chien-Ming Wang is no longer relied upon to be the #1 guy and Joba Chamberlain can continue his transition to the starting rotation without being hyped as the next Roger Clemens. The signing of Mark Teixeira improves the team both offensively and defensively at first base, with the added bonus of plugging a switch hitter into the middle of the lineup. The Yankees aren't going to get a ton of value for the money they spent, but they did improve their team at any cost. Now the only question that remains is if that improvement is enough to get them out of third place in the AL East.

I would like to add for the MFY, what could end up being the biggest move for them, which inexplicably was left off. Nick Swisher. For all the talk about "NY needs a Pedroia/Youkilis type, blah, blah, blah." Or the annual "we need another Brocious, or O'neal." Swisher could be that guy for them. That's the pick-up that scares me the most. It's the one your not expecting.

Although with the new stadium. They won't have their "mystique and aura" anymore.

[Machado]

SO they lied. OK. I think your acquainted with that phenomenom? Correct? As well as the rest of us.

Think of it this way. If they roll out another stink bomb, its going to be better than you could have ever imagined. And Torre already has A-Rod's panties moist. So this year could make The Titanic look like a minor boating accident.

Lied? That is harsh. I'd like to think the Yankees had a change of heart and went after the "big ticket" free agents because they were out there for the taking. Plain n simple.

Why lickety continues to whine about the Yankees payroll is beyond me.
Obsessed much lickety?

Tell the chowder-heads to re-sign varitek. Any money given to him is a waste. Might as well flush that down the toilet. That captain is done. His decline in '09 will only be worse. So yeah, I welcome that signing

[JakeYonkel]

Remember, next year's free agent class is horrendous. Better to stock up and make a big splash now than wait til next year.

Just for fun, the highlights of free agency following the 2009 season:

Carlos Delgado (old)
Brian Roberts (may get extended soon)
Miguel Tejada (bad)
Adrian Beltre (not good anymore)
Chipper Jones (likely to get extended)
Jason Bay (will definitely get extended)
Matt Holliday
Vladimir Guerrerro (will be limited to DH)

And for the pitchers...

Erik Bedard
Rich Harden
John Lackey

Yeah, sorry, I don't blame the Yankees for going apeshit this year. The only guys worth half a shit that are likely to be available are Holliday, Vlad, and Lackey. The rest are either bad, injury-prone, or likely to be given an extension before the end of this year.

[killeverything]

I thought Hideki Okajima was a free agent after next year?

He is.

As is I believe Beckett.

Let's see if were up to things. The MFY spent a lot of money, Arod is an asshole, Torre is a bitch, the Mighty Red Sox could have the best starting rotation and bullpen in all of baseball.....or the most guys on the DL, Tampa's question is still the BP and I still can't believe they landed Burrell, there is a God since Manny's crying act out of town has left him without a team, Milton Bradley was not worth it for the Cubs, Sheets' time on the DL has fucked argueably the most talented pitcher availible, the bridge to Rivera is seemingly the only MFY weakness, fuck the Mets...the East will be Philly's, and the Peavy to the Cubs deal is back on.

I'm ready for the season to start.

[Machado]

I thought Hideki Okajima was a free agent after next year?

He is.

As is I believe Beckett.

Let's see if were up to things. The MFY spent a lot of money, Arod is an asshole, Torre is a bitch, the Mighty Red Sox could have the best starting rotation and bullpen in all of baseball.....or the most guys on the DL, Tampa's question is still the BP and I still can't believe they landed Burrell, there is a God since Manny's crying act out of town has left him without a team, Milton Bradley was not worth it for the Cubs, Sheets' time on the DL has fucked argueably the most talented pitcher availible, the bridge to Rivera is seemingly the only MFY weakness, fuck the Mets...the East will be Philly's, and the Peavy to the Cubs deal is back on.

I'm ready for the season to start.

Read today that the red sox have given varitek a deadline of saturday. Do you think he will sign? I think yes, unless another team will "blow him away" with an offer.

How is A-Rod still an asshole? HA HA HA

[killeverything]

I thought Hideki Okajima was a free agent after next year?

He is.

As is I believe Beckett.

Let's see if were up to things. The MFY spent a lot of money, Arod is an asshole, Torre is a bitch, the Mighty Red Sox could have the best starting rotation and bullpen in all of baseball.....or the most guys on the DL, Tampa's question is still the BP and I still can't believe they landed Burrell, there is a God since Manny's crying act out of town has left him without a team, Milton Bradley was not worth it for the Cubs, Sheets' time on the DL has fucked argueably the most talented pitcher availible, the bridge to Rivera is seemingly the only MFY weakness, fuck the Mets...the East will be Philly's, and the Peavy to the Cubs deal is back on.

I'm ready for the season to start.

Read today that the red sox have given varitek a deadline of saturday. Do you think he will sign? I think yes, unless another team will "blow him away" with an offer.

How is A-Rod still an asshole? HA HA HA

Yep. He has until the 31st to sign. He'll definitely be back. He's also instructed Boras to not negotiate with any other teams....not that there were any. I'm glad, so he can help groom a younger replacement. Also work with the younger pitching staff. He's coaxed two no-hitters out of two of them so far. Intangibles, but his presence is obviously a factor in the clubhouse.

How is Arod still an asshole? Wait for the season, you'll see. The guy is hated everywhere he goes for a reason. For the longest time in Boston the saying about the team was "25 men, 25 cabs." It seems to be the case in NY now....well maybe "25 men, 2 cabs."

Curse of the Arod is upon you all

I am on my fucking knees praying that the signing of Pettite and a strong pre-season by Hughes will put Joba back in the eighth inning.

That's cute, because I'm praying for the exact opposite.

Not having Joba in the 8th, is the weakness on that team. It will help CC pitch a lot of innings and keep up his poor post-season record. It will put too much pressure on Wang. It will prematurealy rush the AAA guys.

The fact that this is even a question is mindblowing to me.

[JakeYonkel]

Okajima is a FA next year. I only listed really upper-tier guys. Beckett has an option which is sure to be exercised so I didn't list him.

[killeverything]

Okajima is a FA next year. I only listed really upper-tier guys. Beckett has an option which is sure to be exercised so I didn't list him.

As for Beckett it's not as much of a no-brainer as you'd think. Theo is terrified of his shoulder. Regardless of how much of a badass the guy is, and reportably Theo stated "why can't we have a young pitcher like that" while watching him in the 2003 WS.

He wouldn't have parted with Hanley for him, because he thinks he's too much of an injury risk. Roll the dice on it whichever way you choose, I just think we'll all be surprised at the FO's negotiations with him when it happens. I see this as a year to year.

[Machado]

I am on my fucking knees praying that the signing of Pettite and a strong pre-season by Hughes will put Joba back in the eighth inning.

Even if Hughes is a complete bust they are better off with Joba in the pen and knowing that they are playing a 7 inning game days 1-4 and biting the bullet every 5th day. Especially since it will mean blowing out Joba's arm in ther short -term.

Here is something to think about: If NY decides that there is no way they can live without Chamberlain in the rotation which would basically be at the expense of his arm, are both they and Joba better served in te long run by trading him to a team that needs a closer in exchange for say a #3 calibre pitcher and AAA prospect?

Keep dreaming.
Stop worrying about our pitchers please.
Speaking of "arm trouble", you have plenty to be concerned with.
smoltz
penny

Yeah, those shoulders and elbows are so healthy...

I'm thrilled Pettitte has returned. I could care less how much money he is getting paid.
Now we have our starting 5.

Sabathia
Wang
Burnett
Pettitte
Joba

If the Yankees decided that Joba should once again return to the pen, then so be it. That would open up a spot for Hughes, Kennedy, Acevedo or Phil Coke.
Seems like a nice problem to have. An abundance of pitching never hurts a club.

Read news that Posada has begun to throw at 90 feet. He seems on track to be ready for opening day.

Rivera is another story. The Yankees never over-extended him during spring training. He does not travel on road trips and does not pitch very many innings to get himself ready.
Coming off a procedure in October to remove a calcified joint from his right shoulder, the Yankees will be cautious with him in ST and allow him to let the team know when he feels ready.