Finestrg wrote:Albaladejo ineffective and now Park..Down 8-2..

We might be in the market for a reliever and a starter.

we definitely need to add some depth to our bullpen w/the way Joba & Chan Ho have been pitching this year... Robertson hasn't been all that reliable either tho he's done better of late.

So as of right now we're looking at Albaladejo (who wasn't good last night -- hit after hit after hit in relief of Hughes) & Mitre as the big pitching upgrade..Unacceptable..Something needs to be done. That ain't even treading water man.

Gonna tune in to Mike'd up today to see what the big boy has to say about all of this..Haven't listened to him in awhile..Hopefully he challenges the team to make a couple of moves for some pitching..

Bonn1997 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:Reading the paper this morning - it looks like Sergio Mitre's gonna get the call up to fill in for Pettitte. Oh man...We gotta do better than that no? I mean we're talking 6 or 7 starts here where we're prepared to go from a frontline MLB starter & all-star to a fringe MLB/AAA starter at best. We're talking POSSIBLY 7 STARTS IN A TIGHT PENNANT RACE HERE!! Say it ain't so Cash..Tell me you got something better for us.

So as of right now we're looking at Albaladejo (who wasn't good last night -- hit after hit after hit in relief of Hughes) & Mitre as the big pitching upgrade..Unacceptable..Something needs to be done. That ain't even treading water man.

Gonna tune in to Mike'd up today to see what the big boy has to say about all of this..Haven't listened to him in awhile..Hopefully he challenges the team to make a couple of moves for some pitching..

Mitre should be capable of going .500, and from a #5 pitcher, that won't kill a team. We more desperately need relief pitchers IMO. The only way I'd go after another starter is if the plan is to move Hughes to the bullpen. Oswalt starting and Hughes as a setup man sounds doable and like a no-brainer.

Man I don't know Bonn -- I'm not looking to go .500 in those 7 or 8 missed starts by Andy here. That could mean the difference between winning or losing the division, possibly even in the wild card..We've got two real good teams nipping at our heels right now in the AL east, one of which (Boston) lost a ton of players with injuries this first half. They're only gonna get healthier and Tampa's very solid...I still think we're in good shape but you never know what could happen. There's a long way to go. Not only does a guy like Oswalt work right now (he'd come in and give us quality starts for the 7-8 starts Pettitte can't go where we wouldn't miss a beat (remember with Pettitte starting a game, as a Yankee fan you're thinking WIN. Period. That's how I'd feel with Oswalt on the hill. With Mitre however, you're hoping you're still in the game after 5 innings and hoping not to tax your bullpen too much in those games..Huge difference. Completely different midset & approach. I don't want to just conceed those games. They're too important) but he'd become a good part of the rotation for the rest of his contract which I believe runs for another year or two after this year..Say we don't go for a frontline starter right now, we're definitely in the market for one this off-season. Javy expires and most likely won't be back and Andy seems to prefer to go year-to-year now. Who knows when he'll finally be ready to hang it up. Suppose he pulls a Mike Mussina and decides to go out on top after this all-star year. Then what?? My thing is why wait until the off-season to add a quality starter when we could use one right now. Not really interested in jerking Hughes around anymore -- no doubt he could assume the role he had last year and he would help us but there's got to be a point where they show some conviction with the decisions they've made...Joba to the pen - LEAVE HIM THERE. Hughes to the rotation - LEAVE HIM THERE. You know?

I agree with you on the bullpen though..If they do wind up putting Hughes in the pen we could be OK (I think Phil is still on an innings limit this year so maybe they will plug him back in the pen. You figure you only need 3 or 4 starters come playoff time anyway I guess, right?). But if not, if they leave him alone and choose to build on his all-star 1st half as a starter, we'll have to come up with a reliable bullpen arm somewhere either from within the organization or via trade... When I get a chance I'll look over our own farm teams and other ML rosters to see if there's anyone we could use...Do the same and let's see what we can come up with.

(1) It looks like Pettitte's injury was a grade 1 strain of the groin, not the hamstring. My mistake. Not sure which is worse.

(2) Doesn't look like we're in the running for Roy Oswalt at the moment. The frontrunners look to be the Cardinals followed by the Phillies. Also, Oswalt will apparently waive his no trade clause if his $16M dollar 2012 option is picked up -- that appears to be a major sticking point in whether or not he even gets traded right now. Picking up that option should be an absolute no-brainer for the Yankees. Oswalt will still be a top pitcher through 2012..
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100722&content_id=12523482&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

(3) Can you guys believe we released Christian Garcia a couple of months ago? I didn't even know that. WTF man? Just couldn't stay healthy (apparently he had to have a 2nd TJ surgery a few months ago). What a shame man. Dude had a world of talent..Bummer.
http://johnalbone.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/christian-garcia-released-by-yankees/

Here's a few trade ideas I've been thinking about since yesterday:

(1) Roy Oswalt/Matt Lindstrom - This is the #1 trade scenario we should be looking at. Maybe we go all in on a package to outbid these other interested teams. How 'bout something like Javy Vasquez (maybe we even agree to pick up some of the tab on his remaining 2010 salary--he'd pitch well for them the rest of the year, going back to the NL), Jesus Montero (Houston's catching depth doesn't look great plus you figure we'd have to include Montero to get both Oswalt & Lindstrom, no way around it), Juan Miranda (Berkman's getting up there and beginning to show some wear & tear), Andrew Brackman (a lot of potential but hasn't lived up to it so far coming back from TJ surgery. Might be very intriguing though from an Astros perspective. Frontline starter potential if he ever straightened himself out. Big time control issues but the velocity's been there since winter ball which in encouraging), Albaladejo or Melancon (potential closer/Lindstrom replacement). Loosing Montero would sting (Kay mentioned on the broadcast tonight that Montero's been on a tear since the Cliff Lee deal fell through btw) but you gotta give to get..Oswalt/Lindstrom is exactly the 1-2 shot in the arm our pitching staff needs right now. With these two guys I think there's a damn good chance we go back to the World Series. Oswalt/Lindstrom might be better overall value than Cliff Lee.

(2) Fausto Carmona/Chris Perez - Carmona and Perez are young still and Carmona's been a frontline pitcher in Cleveland for awhile now. Montero might have to go in this package as well.

(3) Dan Haren - Not having the best year but he's a proven horse that's had a lot of major league success. Strikes out a ton of guys..

(4) Jeremy Guthrie - not having a great year but I think he's still quality. Guthrie with our offense should have no problem being successful here. Shouldn't have to give up too much but it might be tough to pull off a trade like this within our own division. I'd love to get my hands on that young lefty Brian Matusz but he's probably not for sale. Baltimore probably looks to build around that kid.

(5) Tyler Clippard - he's leveled off a little bit of late but this kid had a great 1st half and could've made the all-star team. Can start or relieve. Good stuff - sneaky over the top fastball 90-92, very good curveball, excellent changeup. I'd love to bring him back.

TMS wrote:i think trading Javy is a good idea, his value won't be any better than it is now & he's clearly not a part of our longterm plans... mine as well get something in return for him while we still can... Javy, Montero & B prospects for Oswalt & Lindstrom? i'd do that deal yesterday.

one name i bet no one's even thinking about but i think deserves some consideration = Barry Zito... yes, i know i know, he's got a horrible contract... i would only consider something like this if SF would be picking up a big chunk of his deal... even still, i think they'd be highly motivated to move him & he's been pitching much better this season (3.45 ERA / 1.26 WHIP are his best numbers since he left Oakland) & giving his team length (in 15 of 20 starts this season he's pitched at least 6 full innings)... his curve is looking like it used to look when he was pitching for the A's, & his fastball velocity hasn't been all that bad in the clips i've watched... we could probably get him for a bag of balls or for 1 of those "players to be named" type of deals like when we pilched Bobby Abreu from the Phillies a few years back... he's also got solid career #'s in the postseason (3.25 ERA / 1.15 WHIP)... not my #1 target obviously, but someone i would look into if SF were willing to pick up a big chunk of his remaining contract.

i've heard Ted Lilly's name being thrown around in trade rumors too, but i doubt he's gonna end up here.

SF's got a lot of pitchers I've had my eye on for awhile now (Cain & Jon Sanchez are two others...). Only problem is they're tied for 1st place in the NL West. They might wind up being buyers not sellers.

VDesai wrote:Dan Haren is good. He was near Cy Young level last year. He's struggled at times this year but make no mistake he's a good pitcher. I agree that you don't give up Montero but Haren is worth getting. I also wouldn't give up Dellin Betances.

IMHO the Yankees still need more bullpen help than starting help even with Pettitte on the mend. Id go after some relievers and try to patch up that 5th spot. Ivan Nova should be the guy taking those starts IMO.