Posted by VDesai:

You guys like the redheaded Rachel Nichols? She's got the crazy eyes if you ask me. I prefer this Rachel Nichols by an infinite margin:



[Edited by - vdesai on 07-12-2009 7:05 PM]

I probably prefer that Rachel Nichols to the other Rachel Nichols too but I'd have no problem if the other Rachel Nichols was looking up at me with those crazy eyes and slurping

Posted by TMS:

i think Cashman makes a deal at the deadline for another starter, possibly someone like Jarrod Washburn, who's putting up solid #'s this year for SEA & whose name has been mentioned several times in past rumors... i doubt we get any superstar starting pitchers, definitely not Halladay cuz the cost would be too prohibitive in terms of talent they'd demand in return... the name that keeps coming up to me is Roy Oswalt if a big blockbuster gets made.

Washburn would be an excellent addition to the staff. We don't need another superstar. We need a solid 16 game winner and Washburn has the proven ability to give you a chance to win every time. The guy can pitch.

I agree Washburn would be a nice pickup...I'm not confident in Pettitte for the rest of this year.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by VDesai:

I agree Washburn would be a nice pickup...I'm not confident in Pettitte for the rest of this year.

He's gotten worse as the season's gone on. Maybe at this age he just can't last a full season? Or maybe the extra rest from the AS break will rejuvenate him? We can only hope!

Who knows? He's pitching pretty bad now though. I guess you can make some comparisons. I look back at the 1999 season, when Cone pitched his perfect game. After that, he pitched like crapola for the rest of the season, and there was A LOT of season to go. Then he pitched well in the playoffs and had a big game in the world series as well. It was either game 1 or 2.

We had a real good pitching staff to go along with Cone though, so hopefully Pettitte can at least just keep us in ballgames long enough to at least get Coke/Hughes in there.

We desperately need Bruney to get back on track too.

I'm hoping Aceves will be given another chance to step up...and I still want to see Hughes have a shot at the rotation at some point- though I concede it probably wouldn't be the best idea this year given our current needs.

I think Joba has a lot more to work out than just starting/relief at this point. Right now his command is suspect and his velocity is suspect and that simply wasn't the case when he was starting games last year. He had a really bad offseason and is going through some growing pains right now.

Can someone post the ESPN Insider article on Joba rumored to be heading back to the pen?

Posted by VDesai:

I'm hoping Aceves will be given another chance to step up...and I still want to see Hughes have a shot at the rotation at some point- though I concede it probably wouldn't be the best idea this year given our current needs.

I think Joba has a lot more to work out than just starting/relief at this point. Right now his command is suspect and his velocity is suspect and that simply wasn't the case when he was starting games last year. He had a really bad offseason and is going through some growing pains right now.

Joba belongs in the pen as the setup guy... Hughes belongs in the rotation... Aceves belongs in the utility relief role... trade for a guy like Washburn & that's the best scenario as far as i'm concerned

Mariano is the man. Sometimes I hope he can pitch into his upper 40s. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

[Edited by - bonn1997 on 07-15-2009 10:06 AM]

Posted by TMS:

Posted by VDesai:

I'm hoping Aceves will be given another chance to step up...and I still want to see Hughes have a shot at the rotation at some point- though I concede it probably wouldn't be the best idea this year given our current needs.

I think Joba has a lot more to work out than just starting/relief at this point. Right now his command is suspect and his velocity is suspect and that simply wasn't the case when he was starting games last year. He had a really bad offseason and is going through some growing pains right now.

Joba belongs in the pen as the setup guy... Hughes belongs in the rotation... Aceves belongs in the utility relief role... trade for a guy like Washburn & that's the best scenario as far as i'm concerned

+1.

Just to go a little further -- my first trade targets for a starter would be Roy Halladay (I'm really interested to see exactly what Toronto would want from us esp. if we agreed to take back Vernon Wells' contract too, and I like Wells btw - he's expensive but he's a damn good player - if the demands are too crazy you laugh and say forget it, but if I'm Cash, I'm at least calling Toronto to see what the asking price is) and Roy Oswalt (right now Houston's a .500 club and only 3.5 games out of the lead in the NL Central but if they hit a skid to start off the 2nd half they could quickly become sellers by the deadline. Oswalt's a good pitcher, better than Washburn, with a price tag that should be less than Halladay's). But I do like Washburn and he shouldn't cost much. Tell you what though, if Seattle becomes sellers here the guy I'd want would be Erik Bedard over Washburn. 5 years younger with much better stuff and he's having a nice comeback year so far (5-2, 2.63 ERA, .214 BAA, 1.14 WHIP, 78 Ks in 75 IP). Bedard might be worth getting over Washburn even if we had to kick in another B-level prospect or two.

Also, if we find out we could use a little more pop in the lineup, protection for someone in the lineup and/or another outfielder, it might be time to bring Shelley Duncan back into the mix. He's been up with us before and been productive and is currently leading the international league in homers (21 last I checked). And if Marte can't make it back or comes back and proves to be ineffective, a guy I've been interested in and wanted to see a for awhile now is Wilkins Arias. 29-year-old lefty reliever that can also spot-start, he's having a decent year for Trenton so far (37 Ks in 37 innings) off a very good year last year in A ball for us. 2008 info for Arias taken from minorleaguebaseball.com:

Appeared in 40 combined games with Class A Advanced Tampa and Double-A Trenton, going 4-0 with a 3.34 ERA. ... Surrendered just 2 HR in 62.0 IP. ... Threw more than one inning in 23 of his 40 outings. ... Limited left-handers to a .141 average (9-for-64, 0 HR). ... Collected his first save since 2006 on May 13 vs. Lakeland (1.0 IP, 2 H). ... Allowed just 3 ER over his final 14 appearances (22.1 IP, 1.21 ERA) with Tampa before being promoted on July 27 for his first Double-A action. ... Did not allow a run in the month of June (8 G, 13.0 IP). Was 6-3 with a 4.59 ERA in 41 relief appearances with Class A Advanced Tampa. Led Class A Charleston with a 9-6 record and a 3.01 ERA in 31 games (22 starts)...finished the season tied for sixth among all South Atlantic League pitchers with his 3.01 ERA...was named SAL "Pitcher of the Week" on 8/21...finished the season with a 28-consecutive-inning scoreless streak...his 3.01 ERA also ranked eighth among allYankees' minor leaguers. In his first professional season, posted a 3-3 record with a 1.40 ERA in 11 games (seven starts) with the Yankees' Dominican Summer League squad. Signed as a non-drafted free agent on 6/7.

We might have better options down below but I think it might be time for these two. They're older prospects that really have nothing else to prove in the minors. Keep the Austin Jacksons down on the farm to keep gaining experience playing every day for now and gimmie a look at guys like Shelley Duncan for some depth and power and Arias as another situational lefty for the pen and let's see if they can help..