Who? There's no one available as far as I can tell. Felix is the only one who'd be worth it, and I doubt that happens. (I'd love if it did, of course.) What do you mean when you say "optioned"?
Lackey, there';s a real gentleman, files for divorce while his wife is going through chemo, nice guy.
Yeah, I had a brain fart on game 4. Porcello pitched for them. Verlander owned the Yankees in game 3. Game 4 was the AJ game, which put it in question. Again, there was no reason to believe the Yankees had a shot to take game 4 unless you're a Yankees fan. As far as the 1 inning of no hits, you have to view it in context of what they did Sunday off a guy who isn't as good as Verlander. It's not unreasonable to expect Verlander to kill them. Again though, my mistake on game 4's starter, who is obviously easier for the Yankees to handle, but still, even being the rabid AJ defender all year, I wasn't convinced we could win that game. -------------- I have to be honest, either Leyland is stupid or more likely I think lying that Verlander isn't available tonight. Your season is on the line. Why wouldn't you pitch him if necessary? Unless Leyland doesn't believe they can beat Texas. It's all-hand-on-deck tonight for the Yankees, including CC and Burnett. Girardi gets it. You either go all-in or go home. The guys may be tired, but there aren't many more tomorrows, and for one team tonight there are none. -------------- Honestly, tonight I might even start Montero at DH and keep Posada on the bench. Not because Posada shouldn't be in the lineup, but I'd rather hold him back to PH for Teixeira if he doesn't get on base early. I'm hoping late game 4 was a sign of things to come for Tex and ARod, but this isn't the time to risk finding out otherwise.
Yeah, I'm not sure who out there I'd be willing to trade for beyond Felix. Weaver? I doubt the Angels are looking to sell there. Who else? Neither Lee nor Halliday is available. I'm pretty sure he meant DFA'd but possibly meant sent to the minors. Not everyone knows the rules on the minors, hell I don't really know them myself. I'm pretty sure Swisher can't be sent down though.
Honestly the way Montero looks right now, I would be disappointed if they trade him for anyone other than Felix. When the guy's body fills out, he is going to be a monster.
The Yankees scored four runs off Verlander in Game 3. I mean, he pitched well overall, but I'd hardly say anyone who gave up four runs "owned" someone else. There was one reason: Porcello is almost as bad as AJ. Possibly worse.
Lee and Halladay aren't going anywhere. If it was for Weaver or Felix (although I don't see the Yanks even wanting to trade for Weaver), I'm sure the package would include more than just Montero. Montero, Hughes, Nunez, and Banuelos might pique some interest (not that I want the Yanks to make that deal).
I really hope Valverde comes in with the game on the line and blows it. *actually not, I hope it's a rout*
Ah, it was your terminology that was misunderstood. "Optioned" is a negative term in baseball, used to mean "the team optioned him to their AAA affiliate" whereas you meant "the Yankees will pick up the option on Nick Swisher." I wouldn't complain about Weaver. Or Halliday. Or Lee. I just don't think any of those guys, or Felix, are for sale. Montero is going to hit well, but I'd take a top arm over him any day. Yes, I know a big bat helps you every day, but a big arm helps you win titles. Bats are replaceable. Not at Montero's potential level, but still, the Yankees will continue to score runs. Plus, Montero is going to remind everyone of why they couldn't stomach Posada behind the plate. Yes, he'll hit more than Posada, but he's going to be worse defensively. Personally, I'd rather have Martin not hit as well as Posada, but be a great defensive catcher over Montero crushing the ball and calling poor games and never creating outs. Obviously it's most dependent on what the Yankees feel they can get from Banuelos, Betances, Noesi, and Phelps. Couple them with whether CC returns and whether they think AJ and Hughes can continue to pitch well next year. The only "sure" thing going into next year is Nova in terms of the rotation. I love the guy, but that's a bit scary. They may not have a choice but to trade Montero. It would actually make me laugh my ass off if they traded Montero for Hernandez. Imagine the backlash in Seattle if they could have had Montero for Lee rather than Smoak, and in the end lost King Felix to get him?
Fair enough. But again, when you view the whole situation (Yankees had mostly struggled offensively outside game 1B, in Detroit, not knowing which AJ would show up) it's reasonable for people to feel like the Yankees were at a disadvantage. I'm not saying the Yankees should have been expected to lose. Just that it wasn't unreasonable to think that Detroit had a legit shot to close it out. Exactly. It wouldn't be "Here's Montero, now give us your best pitcher!" Why do people always think Yankees fans are unreasonable? Hell, if anything, we often give up too much in deals. Exactly. Like I said the other day, I never want to see Valverde pitch against us again. I want to be up 10 in the ninth. And put Mo on the mound to close it out.
First, you don't know that he's going to be worse defensively or that he calls poor games. From my understanding, there are two complaints about his defense. One, he's slow on his throws to second. Two, he doesn't always block balls very well (although he improved on that this year). His game-calling skills are actually thought to be alright. If he can stick at catcher - even a shitty one - the roster flexibility alone more than makes up for any defensive shortcomings. And while an elite pitcher is usually more valuable than an elite bat, that's only due to scarcity. Bats might be replaceable... but elite bats less so. Miguel Cabrera is an elite bat. Manny Ramirez was an elite bat. Those are tough guys to replace, but tougher still to replace if they come at a position that has even fewer decent bats available. It's also nice to have Montero on the team if only to have a cost-controlled player at a premium position. The money you save on free agency there can get you a pitcher later. Hopefully, it's not even an issue when the Yanks have CC > Nova > Hughes > Banuelos > Betances each winning 28 games next year.
