Posted by TMS:

any idea what Dotel was asking for? i haven't read anything on him this offseason... he woulda been a viable setup option for Mo.

Hawkins' days in MIN are long gone bro... he only had 2 dominating seasons for them & 1 other good year... the other 6 years he pitched in MIN were pretty horrendous... & the last time he pitched in the AL was a couple seasons ago when he had a 4.48 ERA for BAL... i really don't expect much at all other than him being a mopup guy for us to tell u the truth... career ERA of 4.69... he's really not that good.

Posted by TMS:

3.23 almost exclusively pitching in the NL... like i said, u gotta take NL stats w/a huge grain of salt... Rocket was in the 2's in the NL before he got here last season, & he was pretty mediocre against AL hitters.

i agree it was a low risk signing, but i don't expect him to solve our setup man issues anytime soon.

Posted by kam77:

HAWKINS:

His numbers against the A.L. East are pretty bad. 5.34 ERA, .293 Avg.

His numbers at Fenway Park are dreadful. 7.00 ERA, .319 Avg.

but his numbers at Yankee Stadium are worse, still. 9.64 ERA, .380 Avg., .628 Slg.

Are those 1 yr splits? His career splits aren't THAT bad- they still are bad, but again, a lot of it came when he was an ineffective starter early in his career. Either way, I still say it was the best option considering the prices of what was out there.

Posted by Finestrg:

Sorry but TMS is right. LaTroy Hawkins is nothing special. In a big spot against a tough righty I'd rather take my chances with Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Veras or even Brian Bruney over Hawkins. I haven't seen Hawkins pitch in a while - I mean he used to be able to hit 95 mph but the fastball was straight as a arrow. Never was afraid of this guy when he came in to face us, and that was a few years ago when he still threw hard. LaTroy Hawkins is not the way to go. This guy's gonna be 36 when the season starts. He's definitely on the decline. We can do better. The pen needs work but doesn't look that terrible:

Mariano Rivera - on the decline and had a rough year but the velocity was still there at a consistant 93 mph as it's been for the past few seasons. It looked like the cutter wasn't as dominant a pitch for him as in years past though. The cutter might be losing a little bite. Still one of the best but we gotta start thinking about a replacement before his new contract is up.

Ohlendorf - I like what I saw a lot. 95 mph sinkers. Gets Ks and groundballs. Ramiro Mendoza with a better fastball. He might turn into the main guy setting up Rivera - it wouldn't shock me.

Jose Veras - looked like the heater gained a tick or two mph toward the end of the season from what I remember in the past with this guy. The guy was hitting 95-96 and he's got a tough, tight little slider against righties. I'd like to see him get the ball more.

Bruney - I like how he comes right at guys. 95 mph, good slider and actually has a good changeup that could be effective against lefties if he ever got regular work. Torre's obvious lack of confidence in him appeared to wear on him as he wasn't as effective as he was in 2006.

Edwar Ramirez - Only throws about 90 but that should be enough with the nice changeup. I like the 31 Ks in 21 innings however the 19 ERs, 6 HRs and 24 hits is alarming. He's more of a back end of the bullpen guy for me.

Farnsworth - love the arm but he's the most ineffective flamethrower I've ever seen. Maybe Girardi gets more out of him as he appeared to be at odds with Torre all the time. Still hits 98-99 and has an excellent slider - hopefully this guy can turn his career around next year but I have my doubts.

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I'd like one more righthander that would have to be an upgrade over both Ramirez and Farnsworth along with a lefty that can get out lefthanded hitting on a regular basis. I think that's how they should be looking at it. First move should be to get Jeremy Affeldt immediately. No brainer. Free agent that would be an excellent pickup. After that try and pry Marte loose from the Bucs for a 2nd tier prospect or two. Marte's got some miles on him now so no way I give up a lot for him. I know he's had bigtime control problems since coming back from arm surgery but I'd also look to give Garrett Patterson a chance to make the club in spring training. Lefty that's supposed to throw in the mid 90s. I might actually go back to the Giants and see if we can work out a smaller deal for Jonathan Sanchez, something small, not involving Matsui or a larger deal involving Matsui and prospects for Matt Cain and Sanchez.

Then I turn my attention to acquiring a righthanded power bat. A lot tougher than fixing the bullpen. Would have to come via trade. Any ideas? Pat Burrell? Mike Piazza? We need a guy who would be a vast improvement over Shelley Duncan, otherwise Duncan should get a shot. With regular playtime, anyone think Duncan can hit 30 homers?







[Edited by - finestrg on 12-09-2007 9:36 PM]

[Edited by - finestrg on 12-09-2007 9:44 PM]