there's a ton of pressure on Joba right now to step in & be this ace pitcher right off the bat & i think Yankee fans need to prepare themselves in case he has some growing pains like Hughes & Kennedy are going through... we even have our owner making Josh Beckett references to Joba at this point... i feel bad for him, he's in a can't win situation.

Big game tonight with Joba making his first start. Against a former Cy Young winner and ace of the Blue Jays, Roy Halladay.

It'll be interesting to see how his stuff is early in the game as he has to pace himself and how long he can sustain his stuff.

Posted by MaTT4281:

First Giambi, then Damon, now Ohlendorf?
What the heck is up with the new mustache trend? Couple that with the gold thong and the Yankees are becoming the Ron Jeremy's of the MLB.

[Edited by - matt4281 on 06-04-2008 9:48 PM]

HA! It's working great for Giambi and Damon at least!

Why did Giambi sit again (until PHing)? I didn't watch the game. Is he injured from when he got hit by that off-speed pitch?

another HR today for Jason... he's now 3rd in the AL in HR's & slugging & tied for 2nd in OPS... what a turn around from the horrific start to the season he had.

so what do u do w/Matsui & Damon? both are having stellar seasons too... i guess u could move Melky over to RF & put Damon back in CF & let Abreu walk, but that would make our D much worse if u ask me.

[Edited by - TMS on 06-09-2008 5:13 PM]

if Giambi would re-sign at minimal dollars i wouldn't mind holding onto him but more than likely the money he's going to command is going to be spent to shore up the starting rotation & to try & sign Mark T as a defensive upgrade at 1B.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by TMS:

so what do u do w/Matsui & Damon? both are having stellar seasons too... i guess u could move Melky over to RF & put Damon back in CF & let Abreu walk, but that would make our D much worse if u ask me.

[Edited by - TMS on 06-09-2008 5:13 PM]

Melky's just not a good enough hitter to be an every day CFer. The 200 point difference in his and Damon's OPS more than makes up for any difference in their fielding (it's really just Damon's arm, actually, not his fielding). He's a good option as a 4th outfielder off the bench, though. He's in the bottom 20% of qualifying CFers in on-base and slugging percentage. That said, I wouldn't say I'm comfortable with Damon as the every day CFer but I'd be even less comfortable with losing our best on base % hitter and probably 2nd best slugger for nothing, especially when the team's offense is this bad.

but we wouldn't be losing him for nothing, whoever signs him would have to give up a draft pick... we got guys like Phil Hughes & Joba Chamberlain that way through compensatory picks we attained after guys like Andy Pettitte & Tom Gordon signed w/other teams as free agents.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by TMS:

so what do u do w/Matsui & Damon? both are having stellar seasons too... i guess u could move Melky over to RF & put Damon back in CF & let Abreu walk, but that would make our D much worse if u ask me.

[Edited by - TMS on 06-09-2008 5:13 PM]

Melky's just not a good enough hitter to be an every day CFer. The 200 point difference in his and Damon's OPS more than makes up for any difference in their fielding (it's really just Damon's arm, actually, not his fielding). He's a good option as a 4th outfielder off the bench, though. He's in the bottom 20% of qualifying CFers in on-base and slugging percentage. That said, I wouldn't say I'm comfortable with Damon as the every day CFer but I'd be even less comfortable with losing our best on base % hitter and probably 2nd best slugger for nothing, especially when the team's offense is this bad.

but we wouldn't be losing him for nothing, whoever signs him would have to give up a draft pick... we got guys like Phil Hughes & Joba Chamberlain that way through compensatory picks we attained after guys like Andy Pettitte & Tom Gordon signed w/other teams as free agents.

I don't think a draft pick is gonna come in and give us 35 HR with a .400 OB%. So that's still a huge void to fill next season. If Teixeira hits here next seasons evenly with how Giambi hits this season, then that's no net gain to our offense and we're still stuck with a mediocre offensive team that's been outscored by its opponents for the season.

Bonn, u realize we're gonna have to give up a draft pick or 2 to sign Mark T in the first place? u want this team to be competitive now while building up our youthful core, but how do u expect to do that by holding onto our aging vets, signing high priced FA's & giving up our draft picks?

if we let Giambi sign someplace else, the draft pick(s) we gain from that will make up for the ones we lose in signing Texeiria... Texeiria can easily fill a 35 HR void in any lineup & gives u gold glove calibre defense & switch hitting ability to boot... we won't miss Giambi in this lineup if we sign him, believe me... if u want a .400 OBP guy on the roster it makes more sense to keep Abreu since he can at least hold down the RF spot for another year until either Tabata or Jackson are ready to hit the main stage & will steal u some bases as well... plus he's 3 years younger than Giambi, who's gonna be 38 yo next season.