Posted by TMS:

what i tell u guys last year... we shoulda traded for Jason Bay, NOT Xavier Nady... the guy is hugely clutch for the Red Sux ever since he got there... i don't wanna hear anymore how he wouldn't be able to handle a high pressure situation, he's already proven he can.

Posted by sebstar:

Posted by Bonn1997:

If they don't make any major moves, then they really need two out of Wang, Hughes, and Kennedy to be able to pitch at the major league level (i.e., about a 4.50 or less ERA) and to move Joba into the bullpen. Then if the starters could get through six, I'd feel confident with Bruney, Joba, and Rivera being the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning men (as long as Joba can return to his pre-2009 form, which I believe he can).

[Edited by - bonn1997 on 04-26-2009 09:40 AM]

Its kinda weak how the Yankees have become everything that their haters have accused them of. An unbalanced, overpaid group of mercenaries. The Yankees simply throw millions at every problem hoping for quick fixes.

the Yankees have always thrown big money at players to field the best teams... it's just been more pronounced since '01 after they went & signed Mussina... the media has stressed the fact that they've been trying to buy championships ever since then but anyone who knows this team will tell u that they've been going after the best & biggest players throughout their history... on paper this team looks to be very well constructed & very capable of winning a championship, but in the end it's up to the players to go out & execute... they're just not getting the job done as a unit... this needs to change or else we're gonna find ourselves out of the playoff picture for the 2nd straight year... i defy anyone who's watched this team this year to tell me they feel strongly confident that this team will win the AL East this year... putting together a great team is one thing, the rest is up to the players themselves to go out & do it.

Posted by GKFv2:

A $206 million team with these kind of weaknesses is really sad. The bullpen is weak, the starting pitching is sketchy and the outfield is a question mark. And our bench - long our strong point with guys like Ruben Sierra, Luis Sojo, Glennalen Hill, etc. - is one of the worst in the majors. I don't understand why the Yankees think paying 3 or 4 superstars max money is going to help this team become a World Series champion. I'd rather spread out that money and make this a strong team from top to bottom.

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by sebstar:

Posted by Bonn1997:

If they don't make any major moves, then they really need two out of Wang, Hughes, and Kennedy to be able to pitch at the major league level (i.e., about a 4.50 or less ERA) and to move Joba into the bullpen. Then if the starters could get through six, I'd feel confident with Bruney, Joba, and Rivera being the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning men (as long as Joba can return to his pre-2009 form, which I believe he can).

[Edited by - bonn1997 on 04-26-2009 09:40 AM]

Its kinda weak how the Yankees have become everything that their haters have accused them of. An unbalanced, overpaid group of mercenaries. The Yankees simply throw millions at every problem hoping for quick fixes.

posada, joba, cano, melky/gardner, jeter, pettitte, mariano, our entire bullpen is basically all homegrown. in fact, there are more homegrown players on this roster than any of the 96-00 yankee teams. what's happened is that we got lucky with the players in that era. winning a championship in baseball ain't easy dawg. the 96-00 yankees spoiled everybody but i remember the 82-94 yanks that didn't make the postseason. it ain't easy...people need to lower expectations b/c baseball is funny that way.

You're preaching to the choir about homegrown talent, but to be fair 50% of the names you just listed came up in the mid-90s. Out of the rest of them, Melky is barely an everyday player. So really there is only Cano and Joba to show for the Yankee farm system in the past 10 years.

And no matter how much we can rationalize it, when we are spending 100-80 million more than many of our closet competitors we should win. Bottom line. When the Yankees had their run we were spending competitively with teams like Baltimore and Boston. Now its just obscene. I bleed pinstripes, but damn if the Yanks dont need to reevaluate their model.