Hahahahaha, stuff it Minny! Andy's back! Now keep Hughes, keep Kennedy, and let's pursue Bedard and be done with it!
two things... A. this gives us some leverage against the Twins cuz now it looks like we're not as desperate...Maybe this was what the Monday deadline was about B. I wouldn't be as upset in losing Hughes as long as we keep Ian though I still wouldn't be thrilled about it...
I'd gladly give up Kennedy, but I am loathe to sacrifice Hughes. Kennedy's shelf life is only so long. He's a Mussina clone. He'll be good till he hits 30. Hughes is a keeper for the next 15 years, at which time he'll be an aged vet at 36. Santana is already in his prime. We'd get 3-5 true quality years out of him. Is it really worth risking 10-12 years for a shot in '08? That we legitimately have anyway? Right now: Wang Pettitte Hughes Chamberlain Moose/Kennedy (with the other in long relief, or a 6 man rotation.) Add Bedard, and it's: Wang Bedard Pettitte Hughes Chamberlain (with Moose AND Kennedy in long relief.) With a Santana deal: Santana Wang Pettitte Chamberlain Moose/Kennedy (with the other in long relief.) I really see no reason to pursue Santana at this point. It's not enough of an upgrade overall, and that's what a trade should do for you, upgrade the overall team. Plus, again, to get Santana, we have to put Damon in center and Matsui in left. That's a huge defensive liability, and only serves to wear down the bodies of both of them. Hank, tell Minny to SHOVE IT.
BTW... why do you keep putting Wang at the top of the rotation? I don't care what his regular season record is... in the playoffs he's teh suck... and why is moose still in? Andy Hughes Wang Jobba Ian I'm more comfortable with that rotation then work on the bridge to Mo
I keep listing the starting rotation as I expect it would look come Opening Day, that's all. I've never been all that sold on Wang in the first place. He's a sinkerballer. That's probably the least successful type of pitcher of all. When a sinkerballer is having an "off day" he's dead meat. Any other type of pitcher has another pitch he can go to (well, except a knuckler, but it's such a hard pitch to hit that it doesn't matter, and it doesn't rely at all on the strength of the hurler's arm). A true sinkerballer like Wang solely relies on his money pitch. His fastball sucks ass. That's something I despised Guidry for. Why didn't he have Wang working on some sort of other out pitch? Anything. A curve, a breaking ball, something. No, Wang throws a fastball and a sinker, and lives and dies with them. (I think he has a curve too, right? But it's no good, so it doesn't help, and needs a lot of work before next year.) If Wang develops an out pitch, he'll be far more capable long-term. Moose and Kennedy is a strange situation. Both are the same "type" of pitcher, basically throwing junk for 7 innings. I tend to go with the vet in that situation, since the kid still has to master his stuff. Moose can pitch in the meaningless games a fifth day starter will come up against, while the kid gets key experience in the pen. Honestly, my rotation by the end of the year would look like this, if all goes according to plan: Hughes Pettitte Chamberlain Wang Moose/Kennedy (Kennedy if he's ready.) That rotation actually serves multiple purposes. Besides having the guys I think will be the best at the end at the top of the rotation, it also throws a huge monkeywrench into opposing lineups. The speed changes between each starter are extreme. Opposing batters will have a slightly tougher time getting their timing down between games, and every advantage, no matter how small, is an advantage.
I don't think we'd even have to consider moving Hughes for Bedard. As for Kennedy, I think we could work something out that doesn't involve him, but I have no qualms with sacrificing him. I think we have enough young talent in the minors to get him without giving up either of them though. The Yankees have the advantage there thanks to Santana. They can easily argue that Bedard is not the "marquee" name that Santana is. Johan has screwed every other pitcher in the game. Well, more correctly, the Twins have.
The problem with this rotation alio is that you have 3 guys who havent hit the 200 inning mark. The goal for Hughes this year was to get close between the minors and the majors. You have seen it so many times before where these kids just start to breakdown with the ole tired arms come late August and September. As much as I love that rotation...it would cause problems if this team were to get to the playoffs and beyond..no? edit: The reason it didnt come into play this year is because Hughes missed so much time with the injuries.
That's true and the Yankees have already said that both Chamberlain and Kennedy will be limited to 150 innings next year. I'm not sure what the count is for Hughes but I doubt it's unlimited. That's the nice thing about having Mussina, Igawa(don't laugh) and Kennedy still around. Igawa actually did pretty well in AAA at the end of the year. Given that Eiland is now the pitching coach we may be surprised with him this year. If we do end up with Santana that could put Joba back in the bullpen to set up. That would suck. I at least want to see what he can do as a starter this year.
I know. I also don't care. For once, I'm thinking long-term, rather than just "win now". We spent time cultivating this farm system to get it back to pre-96 levels. We need to continue on that path, even if it doesn't work this year. I'm fine with the number of innings though. There are quite a few arms in the system who can come up for spot starts later in the year if we're in good playoff shape. That will help. Plus, if we pick up Bedard, we're in even better shape with Wang, Pettitte, Bedard, and Moose. All guys who can go the distance. I'm just not that worried. Exactly where I was going with the above!
BTW, both Jackson and Tabata are starting out at Trenton this year. That may mean they are both only a year away. If that's true that could mean Tabata takes Abreu's spot in '09 and Jackson takes Damon's in '10. I was doing some searching yesterday on Tabata and found a couple of articles where they compare him to Manny at the same age. No wonder the Yankees won't include any of these guys in a deal for Santana. Horne could be only a year away too.
Its the limit I dont understand...I dont understand how you can enforce that. I follow what you are saying...but how do you limit the innings...have them go on 5 days rest for part of the season? I think you have to add into the equation the length of the year...even if you are limiting the innings...they are still throwing for 7 months. It has to be a concern to the front office..should be interesting how it plays out.
Oh, I totally agree with you. Its not the "winning" im concerned about at all. When you have 3 studs (how rare is that nowadays), you bring them along at the correct pace. I just dont understand how you bring them along slowly. The main reason Hughes was a) starting off in the minors this year and b) able to pitch in the playoffs was because of the 150 innings they were going to allow him to pitch. Because of the injuries it wasnt a factor and didnt need to be monitored. When you pencil in not one...not two..but three of these guys in your rotation...even if you have 3 average backups..not sure how you can do that and have them ready for the playoffs...do you just shut them down in September? Do you allow them to throw only 110 innings going into September? Im not stating this concern because Im so worried about our rotation come October...I just dont understand how you do it over a 7 month season.
There is no way Kennedy's limit is only 150 innings next year. He threw 165.1 innings this year. He'll probably be capped around 190-200 innings. Chamberlain pitched 112.1 innings, so 150 IP seems like a reasonable cap for him this year. Hughes only pitched 110.1 innings this year, but he pitched 146 the year before. His limit will probably be around 160-175 innings. What this all means is that Moose will be getting more and more time in the rotation to keep these kids' inning counts down. Also, injuries are bound to occur, so the Yankees still have plenty of prospects to call and eat up some innings. Guys like Tyler Clippard, Chase Wright, Allan Horne, Steven White, Kei Igawa (ugh), Jeff Marquez, Matt DeSalvo, Jeff Karstens, Dan McCutchen, Darrell Rasner and possibly Humberto Sanchez (i expect him to be in the 'pen) To read up on some of the guys I listed check out this... http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/...cleId/2259/Rotating-the-TripleA-rotation.aspx
Well that kind of answers my question. Im surprised to see that Kennedy through so many innings...thats a good thing. Chamberlains innings are low...but of course would have been much higher if he came up and started...although he pitched only 112 innings..he probably put in about 140 worth of time..if you follow that logic..lol. Ok...see if the number is about 165-175 for each....that can be done through starting them every 6th day for parts of the year...and pulling them on 90-100 pitches max. Thats doable.
