High and Tight.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Q: Name the Last Twins Pitcher to Win a Game in the Bronx

A: Johan Santana (2007)

Pretty crazy, huh?

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:22 AM 4 comments

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Reality Check History Lesson

Who was the lowest regarded prospect of the following:

A. Phil Hughes
B. Joba Chamberlain
C. Sam Marsonek
D. Domingo Jean
E. Ian Kennedy
F. Brandon Claussen
G. Johan Santana
H. Ted Lilly
I. Ryan Bradley
J. Jake Westbrook
K. Tyler Clippard
L. Ed Yarnall

If you guessed "G," you were correct. Santana was left unprotected in the Rule V draft by the Houston Astros, and then was selected by the Minnesota Twins. The Astros didn't think highly enough of Santana's future to place him on their 40 man roster, and lost him for nothing. Two (and deserving of at least one more) Cy Young awards later, Santana has proven the scouts and pundits wrong.

So where are Yarnall, Bradley and Jean these days? Clippard is now so low on the Yankees radar that they'd happily throw him in on almost any deal at this point. Claussen is now in the Nationals system after frustrating Reds fans and not pitching in 2007. Westbrook has had one good year (2004) and been a mediocre pitcher in every other. Theodore Roosevelt Lilly has had the most success of any of the "highly regarded" prospects traded by the Yankees, and has put together a pretty decent career as an above average major league pitcher (although 2007 is the only year since he left the Yankees he has posted an ERA under 4.00). I believe Sam Marsonek picked up my dry cleaning last week.

What's the point here? Yankees fans tend to overvalue their own prospects and young players, thinking every single one of them is going to be the next Whitey Ford or Roger Clemens. Kennedy, Hughes and Chamberlain are good prospects and appear to be able to compete on the major league level and hopefully all three will have good careers ahead of them. There are, however, no guarantees.

Remember that when the thought of sacrificing one of three prospects to obtain the best pitcher in baseball in the prime years of his career becomes a possibility.

Or maybe you're still hoarding that Hensley Meulens rookie card, convinced he could still be the next Mickey Mantle.

Labels: bam bam meulens, ian kennedy, joba chamberlain, johan santana, phil phranchise, prospects, trade rumors, yankee history

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:01 PM 4 comments

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Dude, They're Getting a Delmon

According to the Star-Tribune of the Mini Apple, the Twins have been busy on other fronts.

The Twins and Tampa Bay Rays are close to finalizing a multi-player deal, according to several sources with knowledge of the discussions. The deal could be announced as soon as today.

The main pieces changning teams would be outfielder Delmon Young, the first overall pick in 2003, and righthander Matt Garza. But indications were strong on Wednesday that as many as six players could be involved.

In addition to Garza, the Twins would send Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett and reliever Juan Rincon for Young, shortstop Brendan Harris and outfielder Jason Pridie. Pridie was with the Twins during spring training of 2006 as a Rule 5 pick.

There are a few ways to look at this deal:

The Twins plan to hold on to Santana for 2008, because without Garza they'll need pitcing.
The Twins plan to try Pirdie or Young in CF and now are targeting different players that match up better in return for Santana.
The Twins have a deal involving Nathan on the table in which they acquire a young third baseman, and only want pitching for Santana.
The market wasn't what the Twins thought it could be for Santana, so they are willing to take a larger package of less ML-ready talent and build around the young core they now have.

I don't think this deal helps the Yankees in their quest for Santana unless the latter is the case. Could the Twins be willing to accept Kennedy/Horne/Marquez with an eye towards 2009-10? It's possible I suppose.

I still think the only place Santana wants to go is New York. Torii Hunter and Ron Gardenhire have all but said that, and since he's got a NTC, he holds all of the cards as far as his destination. If the Yankees and Santana both play hardball, it would mean a lesser package or Santana filing free agency after the 2008 season.

The down side of this of course is that the Twins may not have to ask the Red Sox for Ellsbury anymore which would facilitate a better match with them.... if, of course, Santana agrees.

It will all come down to where Johan wants to pitch.

Labels: delmon young, johan santana, trade rumors, twins

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:08 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

For the Record...

Johan Santana is better than any pitcher currently on the Yankees.

He will be better than any pitcher currently on the Yankees for the next number of years.

I would trade any pitcher currently on the Yankees for him (with an extension, of course).

There are preferences (Horne, Whelan, Jackson and Cabrera for Santana? Where do I sign?) but when it all comes down to it, with the Mussina/Abreu/Giambi money coming off the books, Santana should be acquired if there's any chance of it happening.

Labels: johan santana, trade rumors

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 6:59 PM 8 comments

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Transition Year

While the Yankees should be competitive in 2008, it really is a transition year in a lot of ways. Many of the long-term contracts that have been hanging around beyond their welcome will expire.

Let's take a look at who comes off the books after 2008 (Player, 2008 salary):
Giambi, $21M
Farnsworth, $5.5M
Pavano, $11M
Mussina, $11M
Abreu, $16M (2008 team option)
Pettitte, $16M (2008 player option)

Not counting major-league minimum players or arbitration eligible ones, these is your current 2009 contracts:
Jeter, $21M
Damon, $13M
Matsui, $13M

Cano and Wang will be in arbitration periods by then, but arbitration amounts won't break the club financially. Assuming Rivera and Posada resign for approximately $13M each per season, you're looking at a guaranteed contract situation after next season of approximately $73M, albeit between five players.

Brian Cashman's reluctance to sign long-term deals crippling with free agents (no thanks, Carlos Beltran) is about to pay off. This sort of payroll flexibility hasn't been seen in the Bronx in years.

2008 looks to be one last hurrah for the old guys, with the 2009 season being a mix of the kids and a few select missing pieces (Johan Santana, $22M/yr?) filling out the roster.

Flexibility. Cashman's talked about it for a couple of years now. Well, it's here, and there's nothing to stand in his way of making the right kind of acquisition right now and for the future (did I mention Johan Santana?).

Labels: johan santana, payroll, roster moves

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:24 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Screwed in the Colon

So Mo Rivera finished second in the Cy Young balloting. I'm ok with that since there wwas another guy who was also deserving. Unfortunately, Santana didn't win either.

They gave the award to a fat bloated assclown because he had a lot of wins.

I wouldn't have minded Santana winning over my favorite pitcher of all time, because a case could be made for him... but the guy that won wasn't even the best starter in the league much less the best pitcher. I know it's hard for relievers to win, because a lot of "old school" voters on't select them.

I really can't wait for old school ballot casting individuals to start dying off so that things like "wins" and "RBI" won't be important factors in determining awards.

Joe Morgan, I'm looking in your direction.