Bonn1997 wrote:If Cashman didn't realize this old lineup would be injury prone, that's part of the problem, not an excuse for it.

C'mon Bonn, you're losing it. Tanaka's old? Cashman was supposed to know the FatHorseCeCe was going down for most of the season? Pineda, okay you get that one, but Cash was also supposed to know Nova's going down and Kuroda was going to be his ace starter?

It's not that the lineup's been injury prone, it's that it can't hit when it's in there.

Bonn1997 wrote:Like all teams, we have some unexpected injuries obviously. Don't forget though that most of our replacement pitchers are pitching better than the injured ones. CC's ERA over the past 40 starts is around 5.50.
Whether it's Dolan or Cashman, you're just looking to excuse incompetence.

Bonn, like most of your points, you hone in on the negative and camp there. The Yanks are like all teams that lose the top 4 of their 5 starters for more than half the season?

And I've never excused Dolan of anything, much less incompetence. And remember, you're only disappointed in Phil right now, you're not considering him part of Dolan's incompetence this early, right?

I still believe in the pinstripes. I believe they will win or tie this Tigers series, then go on to sweep the orioles, indians, and Rays....Yankees will replace the Orioles on to of the division and sail into the playoffs.

By October everyone will be healthy and hitting. World series is ours again this year!

Jeter and the Expendibles.... You heard that here first!!!

Bonn1997 wrote:How does Brian Cashman still have a job?

He's sort of a polarizing type GM. Sort of like Billy Beane. ( If Beane wins, he's a genius, if he loses, he's hamstrung by being a small market team GM)

Cashman always had the Boss to fall back on for blame if things didn't go right. The 2010 book by Torre certainly doesn't paint Cashman in a good light.

He openly opposed resigning ARod and getting Soriano. So it's not like he's never wrong.

He also refused to part with Ed Nunez in a package for Cliff Lee.

But he's also gotten some good finds like Colon and Chavez and got the last bit of juice out of Tony Clark.

The YES network IMHO is a bigger problem. To support the network, the Yankees need to put on a "show" each year. No years like Boston a few years back who basically punted the season and cleaned out Crawford, Gonzalez, Beckett, etc. The NY expectation and the network expectation is young guys need to develop fast and be elite fast. Can you imagine the type of pressure cooker would be on guys like Kris Bryant or Addison Russell or Javier Baez or any of the Cubs hot prospects under the NY glare?

I think Cashman gets credit for being a good GM considering his circumstances ( clearly he doesn't have complete final say, for most of the Yankees 2000s run, it appeared that Torre, Gene Michael and the Boss all had input too)

You need to build your core through the draft and develop players. You can't just keep buying them and their decline phases, but that's what the Yankees are doing, paying for guys after they've peaked and into their dog days. Look at the Dodgers, Joc Peterson is killing the minors but all that big outfield spending, there's not enough room to let the kid come up and play.

Money is great, gives you options, but sometimes having your back to the wall makes you fight harder and more creatively ( i.e. Billy Beane)

I don't think we will really know what kind of GM Cashman is or is not until he's on another team.

Finestrg wrote:What a huge shot in the arm Shane Greene's been. Feel good whenever this kid takes the mound. Compares favorably to the Indians' Corey Kluber if you ask me.

Wasn't high on the Martin Prado trade at first (I really liked Peter O'Brien's power potential--interested to see what this kid winds up doing for AZ once they finally call him up), but looking at it now, it looks like a solid move -- Prado's finally started hitting (not a big power hitter by any means but he's got a live bat -- kinda reminds me of Aaron Boone up at the dish a little bit) and I like the defensive versatility he brings. Probably looking at our everyday 2B from here on in -- I think he'll settle in at 2B, he'll hit enough, field well and do a nice job overall for the foreseeable future (next couple of seasons). Pretty good pickup.

A couple of random thoughts:

(1) Should Tanaka resume pitching or shut it down the rest of the way? I see he looked good throwing two simulated innings the other day, throwing all his pitches with no soreness reported afterward. Good signs. Doctors advised rest & rehab over surgery from the get-go due to it only being a partial tear and are behind a comeback this yr but I gotta admit man, I'm a little concerned about him reinjuring that elbow. I just hope they know what they're doing. If it becomes clear at any point that we won't make the playoffs, I'd shut him down. I wouldn't even need to wait until we're mathematically eliminated..

(2) Any thoughts on going after Colby Rasmus in free agency? I know he's having an off year (low BA, Ks are up) but I think getting this guy could be a good move. Was just reading a Toronto Sun article discussing Rasmus vs. Melky, who they should keep. Speculation is that the Jays should pay Melky and let Rasmus walk, that they won't have enough money to keep both along with some of their other upcoming FAs. Some positives: we need to add some more power to this lineup for next year--Rasmus isn't your prototypical bopper but he's got very good power. That swing of his is tailor made for Yankee Stadium--I've seen him launch quite a few into the upper deck against us. Currently a low-20s HR guy, I think he could be a 30 HR guy with us fairly easily. Defensively, we need an OFer (RFer) he's always been a plus OFer in my eyes. I think he'd do a nice job in RF for us--he can go get it and he's got a strong arm. Gardy/Ellsbury/Rasmus left to right (all CFs really) -- that'd be an awesome OF. And then just like when we got Ellsbury--it could be a move that makes us better and one of our top competitors in the division weaker at the same time...Just looking over some of the potential FAs for next year -- I think I like this guy as much as anyone for us...I remember a while ago seeing a picture of Colby Rasmus as a kid on the field at the old Stadium posing with Paul O'Neill. Imagine if we got him and he turned into another O'Neill: a good player that became that much better once he became a Yankee... Like it or not, we're gonna have A-Rod back at 3rd next year. Between whatever he can give us (I'd been ecstatic if he can still field the position & contribute 20-25 HRs), McCann (hopefully he has a much better yr next season), Tex, Ellsbury, then adding a Colby Rasmus in FA & maybe another halfway decent DH stick we come up with somewhere if it's in the budget (Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales?) -- that wouldn't be a terrible middle of the order. Better than what we're looking at right now anyway..

jrodmc wrote:Tanaka is going to pitch. We are in the race.
9 hits in a row! I wish I hadn't turned the game off after Cervelli hit into an inning ending double play in the second. I am not a good Yankee fan.

Hey, Bonn, who you giving credit to for this patched together rotation over-achieving? Shawn Green happens everyday, right?

Ya gotta believe! Yanks do reverse collapses!

(1) Resign Stephen Drew to replace Jeter. Should come dirt cheap--he's been pretty bad the past couple of years but he's capable. Good stopgap option over the next few years until we can come up with something better. If this guy hit .250 and fielded his position, I'd be OK with that (I'd want to pay accordingly too -- this guy needs to come back for the right price. We can't overpay to bring him back). If we can get the bulk of the major production we'll need elsewhere, we don't need this guy to be Jeter in his prime. Plus I'd rather spend money elsewhere. Gotta do our diligence here though -- if someone like JJ Hardy, Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie is willing to sign for the same or less than Drew, that's probably the way to go. Hanley Ramirez will be available but he'll probably be too expensive. He'll want (and probably get) star money or close to it...Again, I think we need to spend the bulk of our FA money elsewhere.

(2) Resign David Robertson. Or do we conserve the money, let Betances close, and divert the D-Rob money to possibly 2 quality setup guys -- Andrew Miller (L) & Chris Perez (R) or a Jim Johnson (R)? Andrew Miller has become a force btw -- if we could grab this guy to go together WITH D-Rob and Betances, that would make for a SICK bullpen.

(3) Resign Chase Headley. Good guy, plays the **** outta 3B and I think he's comfortable here -- I think we could reasonably expect 30 doubles and 15 HRs next year as a fulltime 3rd baseman.

(4) Pencil in A-Rod as the DH. I mean we'll be back to paying this guy big money -- he needs to earn at least some of that money. I'd like to see him come in in shape, ready to put all the nonsense behind him by the end of spring training and with a fierceness and mindset that he's got a lot to prove. 20-25 HRs would be fine; more than that would be even better. No steady DH has given us that kind of production this year.

(5) Come up with something better than Carlos Beltran for RF (unloading Beltran's salary would be a top priority for me. Bottom line: we unload Beltran's salary, we'll have more money to spend on other things. Beltran for a couple of B-level minor leaguers and call it a day. If we could get more than that, great, but I'll be satisfied dealing him to a team that's willing to absorb the rest of his contract). How 'bout signing Colby Rasmus as a replacement (upgrade)? Dude's a top-notch outfielder and I think he could really do some damage in Yankee Stadium (25-30 HRs maybe?). Might be able to get him cheap off his subpar year.

(6) Pencil in Martin Prado as the everyday 2nd baseman. Gotta see what Pete O'Brien winds up becoming but as of now, this turned out to be a good trade for us. Dude's a gamer.

(7) Resign OFer Chris Young if the money makes sense (trade Beltran & let Ichiro walk -- this guy should be our extra outfielder). Check in with Delmon Young -- dude's been around forever yet is only 29. Could be a good 4th OFer/DH if Young proves to be too expensive.

(8) Resign Brandon McCarthy. He's been good overall; GREAT pitching at Yankee Stadium. Money needs to make sense though. We've been paying Kuroda about $16mm a pop over the last few seasons (year to year 1-yr deals)--I think McCarthy has better stuff at this point and would come cheaper. Let Kuroda walk and resign McCarthy. Together with Tanaka, Greene (needs to become a mainstay now), hopefully we get Nova back contributing, Pineda and either CC or Capuano back in the mix as a lefty starter to round out the rotation---with a guy like Luis Severino waiting in the wings (ace or legit #2 potential here - I think he could move up quickly)---that ain't bad at all. Pitching hasn't been the problem this yr. It's been a big plus. The offense is what needs to be tweaked/enhanced.

(9) I'd like to see Zealous Wheeler and Antoan Richardson back for depth. Wheeler's tough, can hit and plays all over and this Richardson is very fast and provides more OF depth.