Yanks restore order [Forum Archive]

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Yanks restore order

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Posted by: min0 lee

All over Beantown yesterday Yuletide carols were being drowned out by the wailing of Red Sox Nation over another stealth attack by the Evil Empire. It was perhaps inevitable the Yankees would now be criticized in some quarters as being reckless gluttons for signing Johnny Damon.

At $52 million over four years, did they overpay? Probably, even though the three-year, $39 million deal the Dodgers gave Rafael Furcal had set the market (averaging $13 million a year) for leadoff hitters this winter. And are they taking a big gamble that Damon, at 32 with a suspect shoulder and diminished stolen base totals, is on the downside?

Absolutely.

But as Brian Cashman put it so aptly the other day: "No matter what we do, we're gonna get ripped because we're the Yankees."

And just what were they supposed to do anyway? They've been getting ripped all winter for doing nothing; for failing to address glaring needs in center field and the bullpen while, on the other side of town, Omar Minaya was making like the Yankees of old, blowing open the closers' market to sign Billy Wagner for four years, $43 million, taking on Carlos Delgado's heavily backloaded $52 million contract and even giving a two-year contract to 47-year-old Julio Franco.

For all that, Minaya was celebrated by Mets fans as Sportsman of the Year, and why not? Do you think the fans care how much money Fred Wilpon and George Steinbrenner spend on their ballclubs? Presumably, they are grateful to have owners who put their profits back into their teams as opposed to the revenue-sharing whiners, David Glass in Kansas City and Kevin McClatchy in Pittsburgh, who have given their fans nothing but last place.

The hard fact is, this is a win-now town. Minaya, as much as anyone, understood this when he took over as Mets GM last year and immediately signed Pedro Martinez with his creaky shoulder for four years, $53 million and then Carlos Beltran for $119 million. Minaya admitted he wasn't concerned with what Pedro would do in the fourth year of that contract, and the Yankees are of the same state of mind about Damon.

If anything, the Yankees deserve credit for the way they played it with Damon's agent, Scott Boras, who until two days ago, was maintaining his public stance of entertaining only offers of seven years for his client. The Yankees waited Boras out until it became obvious he had no market at all for Damon above four years and only the Red Sox and Orioles at four. The last domino to fall in the Damon market was the Dodgers' signing of Kenny Lofton over the weekend. (By the way, how do you think that one's gonna work out with Jeff Kent?)

The Red Sox also knew Boras was never going to get more than four years for Damon, which is why they stood pat on their four-year, $40 million offer. But they underestimated the Yankees, who, according to their critics, were prevented from going after Beltran or other big-ticket free agents because they were losing millions over their past excesses.

Sensing this confluence of events - the Dodgers dropping out, the Orioles being a non-factor, the Red Sox frustrating Damon by their refusal to budge - the Yankees decided to call Boras, tell him straight out what they were prepared to do, with the condition that it wasn't something he could sit on.

Meanwhile, it's pretty apparent that the multi-headed Red Sox front office is in disarray and never knew what hit it Tuesday night. Yesterday, team president Larry Lucchino and his new wonderboy co-GMs, Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, held an emergency damage-control press conference at Fenway Park and attempted to explain how the Sox could lose yet another Beantown icon to the Evil Empire.

"They filled a hole in their puzzle and we didn't," Lucchino conceded, "so in some ways it was a two-fer for them. I leave it to the Yankees to make decisions for the Yankees."

Unlike the Yankees, who are paying a steep price for 12 straight years of futility in the draft, the Red Sox at least have a surplus of desirable trading chips in their farm system as well as their starting rotation in order to obtain a replacement for Damon.

They're looking at Cleveland's Coco Crisp, Seattle's Jeremy Reed, and old friend Dave Roberts in San Diego. But as of now, they have no center fielder, no shortstop, no first baseman, no bona fide closer and seemingly no game plan.
On paper anyway, there's been another seismic shift of power in the American League East with the Yankees adding the prototypical leadoff man they haven't had since Chuck Knoblauch in their last world championship season in 2000, and the Red Sox subtracting another pillar from their only world championship team since 1918.

Posted by: Flex

good article.

sadly most of it is true.

Posted by: min0 lee

He is very good and when he not like other columnists who like to spread rumors.

Bill Madden joined the Daily News in 1978 after nine years at United Press International where he covered baseball, track and field and Olympics. He was the Daily News' Yankee beat writer from 1980-88 before becoming the News' national baseball columnist. In his 24 years with The News, Madden has broken numerous major baseball stories. He is the author of the just-published "Pride of October: What It Was to Be Young and a Yankee," as well as two other books on baseball - "Damned Yankees" in collaboration with Moss Klein of the Newark Star-Ledger, and Don Zimmer's best-selling autobiography, "Zim-A Baseball Life."

Posted by: Triple Threat

good article.

happily most of it is true.

Posted by: I Are Baboon

Yeah, well the Red Sox just snagged backup catcher John Flaherty from the Yanks. WHO GETS THE LAST LAUGH NOW, BITCHES!?

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Yeah, well the Red Sox just snagged backup catcher John Flaherty from the Yanks. WHO GETS THE LAST LAUGH NOW, BITCHES!?

Posted by: ANCAM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Yeah, well the Red Sox just snagged backup catcher John Flaherty from the Yanks. WHO GETS THE LAST LAUGH NOW, BITCHES!?

Posted by: soxmuscle

The Red Sox will almost certainly have the last laugh - Damon will decline in year two or three as projected and Yankee fans will be calling for his head and I will be laughing.

Flaherty at this point will have been long gone.

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

The Red Sox will almost certainly have the last laugh - Damon will decline in year two or three as projected and Yankee fans will be calling for his head and I will be laughing.

Flaherty at this point will have been long gone.

You should know the Yankees have no plans on keeping him that long. Right now there really isn't a market for a very good centerfielder and I'm not sure if there is one next year.

Posted by: min0 lee

I really would like to see both teams stay competitive, those battles were epic.
I miss the days of when the Knicks and Heat were both good.

It's good drama.

Posted by: soxmuscle

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

You should know the Yankees have no plans on keeping him that long. Right now there really isn't a market for a very good centerfielder and I'm not sure if there is one next year.

whose going to take damon at that type of money?

Posted by: ANCAM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

whose going to take damon at that type of money?

Stop your complaining already. Damon is gone, they still have a decent team...just not as good as the Yankees, or the Blue Jays

Posted by: soxmuscle

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANCAM

Stop your complaining already. Damon is gone, they still have a decent team...just not as good as the Yankees, or the Blue Jays

complaining? what the hell are you talking about? there hasn't been a day thats gone by since Damon became a Yankee that I haven't thanked the lord.

now either answer the damn question, or get the hell out of the thread.

Posted by: TJ Cline

I disagree with that article.

Posted by: ANCAM

Yeah I am sure if he stayed with the Red Sox you would of still thanked the lord.

Relax dude, its all in fun.

Posted by: soxmuscle

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANCAM

Yeah I am sure if he stayed with the Red Sox you would of still thanked the lord.

Relax dude, its all in fun.

If Damon had resigned with the Red Sox for any amount of money, i'd have seriously considered taking a slight step back from the diehard I currently am.

I can't stand the guy, never have, never will.

I am relaxed though.

Posted by: soxmuscle

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

I disagree with that article.

i <3 you

Posted by: ANCAM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

Then i apologize for the above comments...
BUT AL East is still going to be
1. Yankees
2. Blue Jays
3. Red Sox

Why all the Damon hate? Wasnt he the big love of Beantown?

Posted by: soxmuscle

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANCAM

Then i apologize for the above comments...
BUT AL East is still going to be
1. Yankees
2. Blue Jays
3. Red Sox

Why all the Damon hate? Wasnt he the big love of Beantown?

I've explained it many times.

How do the Yankees have such an advantage over the Red Sox and Jays no less the Rays and Orioles? It is unfeasible to imagine relying on a 43 year old as your ace, and a very mediocre remaining four.

The Yankees could very well finish third in my opinion.

Posted by: BOSOX1980

Quote:

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

I agree! The reason why the Yankees were not successful last year was not becuase Bernie Williams wasn't good enough. They were unsucessful because thier pitching sucked. What have they done for thier pitching this winter? In my opinion nothing. If anything thier pitching was worse losing Flash Gordon. He was not a big name pitcher but he was reliable from the pen

The Red Sox lost a good lead off hitter, but what we lost in offense we gained ten fold in defense. We will have one of the best starting rotation in the AL East if not the best. With the strong inmprovements to the pen we will not need to put up 9 runs a game this year. With that being said the games will be much more manageable.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I think the Yankees are doing the same things they did last season. Load up on big name offensive players neglecting thier real concern, thier pitching staff. The Sox took a different approach with some solid field players and a focus on thier pitching staff. I think we will see it pay off come October.

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOSOX1980

The reason why the Yankees were not successful last year was not becuase Bernie Williams wasn't good enough. They were unsucessful because thier pitching sucked.

What have they done for thier pitching this winter? In my opinion nothing. If anything thier pitching was worse losing Flash Gordon. He was not a big name pitcher but he was reliable from the pen

The Red Sox lost a good lead off hitter, but what we lost in offense we gained ten fold in defense. We will have one of the best starting rotation in the AL East if not the best. With the strong inmprovements to the pen we will not need to put up 9 runs a game this year. With that being said the games will be much more manageable.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I think the Yankees are doing the same things they did last season. Load up on big name offensive players neglecting thier real concern, thier pitching staff. The Sox took a different approach with some solid field players and a focus on thier pitching staff. I think we will see it pay off come October.

No one ever blamed Bernie, I'm more concerned with our middle relief than anything else.

Flash was good in the regular season but as you surely have seen he was always shaky during big games.

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

whose going to take damon at that type of money?

We all know the Yankees like to waste money on players past their prime, for the most part we were lucky

Posted by: JOHNYORK

1damon 2.jeter 3.arod 4.sheffield 5.giambi 6.masui 7.canoe 8.posada 9bernie

yankees got legit leadoff hitter please stop the nonsense talk yankees pitching suked last year alot of injuries but i sorta remember them winning the division am i right im not sure??

Posted by: min0 lee

I do like their lineup, lets see...Wang pitched very good up until he was injured , Chacon was a very good addition last year and I believe Randy will improve this year. Leiter should retire and they should just put Brown to sleep.

Posted by: Triple Threat

I think they signed Leiter to a minor league contract.

Posted by: IainDaniel

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANCAM

BUT AL East is still going to be
1. Yankees
2. Blue Jays
3. Red Sox

I think you have this wrong.

1. Jays
2. Redsox
3. Yankees

Posted by: ANCAM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

I think you have this wrong.

1. Jays
2. Redsox
3. Yankees

Oh Plleeaassseee.

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