I wasn't sure where I should post this, but this article is great, and basically sums up what I've been saying all along. My favorite part was this: Caple might just be a little surprised to find out that the answer is yes, in at least one case.
Come on. Have the Yankees improved since last year? No - except all their key players have all gotten one year older, ie., Jeter, Posada, Rivera (assuming he is back of course), Abreau, Matsui, Damon.
actually all their players have gotten one year older, not just the key ones, just as every player from every team.
Some players improve with an added year of experience. As an example, on the Mets, I think the "heart" of the team will get better as they are ONLY 25 years old (Wright and Reyes).
Yeah, except the pitching staff went from: Wang Pettitte Clemens Mussina (Whoever from the list of Clippard, Wright, Kennedy, Hughes, DeSalvo, Karstens, Igawa) To: Wang Hughes Chamberlain Kennedy (Whoever from Pettitte, Mussina, someone else) Yeah, all we did was get older. You Mets fans really need some new material. You don't even know the subject you're discussing anymore.
Come on Alio - you are getting awfully contentious lately.:rofl: Sorry, but Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy have really not proved anything YET.
First of all, the issue was that we were still sticking with some formula of signing/resigning old players. That changed rotation I posted shows that contention to be absolutely false. Second of all, Phil Hughes pitched a 7-inning no-hitter before his hammy went out on him. And he was still dominating when it happened. Chamberlain, while not yet throwing a start absolutely blew away everyone he faced until he was covered in bugs. The only one of the three that hasn't necessarily shown anything yet is Kennedy, but he looks like a young Mike Mussina. You want to know why I'm getting contentious? I'm sick and tired of people posting loads of crap in the Yankees threads. The jealousy and envy is transparent. You don't see me jumping in Mets threads to talk about ridiculous shit like overpaying Torrealba, right? Yet, I keep seeing how the Yankees overpaid the best player in the game, even though Mets fans were salivating over him last week. I see how the Yankees overpaid Posada, but Mets fans were filled with glee last week when Minaya was preparing the same sort of deal for him.
All true. But the bottom line is that the Yankees HAVE NOT improved themselves this year. Arod had a career year. All the Yankee key players are a year older, ie. Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Damon, Matsui. Please don't tell me you are depending on three rookie starters to blossom into future Hall of Famers. Its not going to happen.
You make a fair point here. Yes, we are a year older, but where exactly did the offense need improvement? The only bat in the lineup that could be upgraded was Melky's, and personally, I'd be happy to keep his defense in center, and attitude in the dugout. Otherwise, this team is once again able to potentially score 1000 runs. Will they finally get over the postseason hump? Good question. That won't be answered for 11 months though. I believe the manager had a lot to do with the October slumps, and in that department, we did upgrade, IMO. Sure, Girardi is less experienced than Torre, but Torre took a team built to win a title to the World Series with very little effort. Girardi took a team no one expected to perform into late-season contention. In terms of the pitching staff, I'm really more hoping that Pettitte will decide to return. Then the rotation is: Wang Pettitte Chamberlain Hughes Moose/Kennedy Hughes isn't exactly a rookie. Again, he was pitching a no-hitter late into a game, early in his career, and a popped hammy ruined his night. Now if there were no scouting reports on the kid, I'd be a bit too overconfident right now. However, by all accounts, we're talking about one of the brighest prospects in the entire sport. Chamberlain was absolutely lights out. The only question is whether he can handle the workload of 7 every 5. He's got the poise, and he clearly has the stuff. Kennedy is the only question mark. Given that he looks just like a young Mike Mussina, I'm comfortable with him as the 5th starter in his first actual season. It's clear the Yankees have the talent to rest back the division from Boston. The only legitimate argument you can make is that it's the same team that hasn't won in October in years. Again though, there's a new skipper in charge, and the biggest problem, starting pitching, has been addressed. I'm excited about the possibilities for this team.
An extremely crappy market can cause this, the Yanks did overpay for Posada but not that wasn't their own fault most can agree to that, and as for Arod to be fair the market didn't even develop yet when the Yankees did what they did so the pricetag was still fluid. Saying that the players were overpaid isn't jealousy it is fact, and I think even most Mets fans can agree that we overpaid for Torrealba, I can make an argument that he shouldn't even be a starter but that doesn't go in this thread. With the market as is you should get used to people saying that a team overpaid for a player because that isn't going to change, but you shouldn't take it personally. And to go with this thread, the Yankees aren't going anywhere until Wang not Arod actually shows up to the playoffs.
You're right but the operative word is "YET". All they have done so far is try and get their own free agents back. They haven't even started to improve the team and probably won't until the winter meetings. It isn't like there is anybody at all among this year's free agent pool that would actually be an upgrade over what they already have. Let's face it, there was no better catcher then Posada, no better closer then Rivera and no better player then Arod. There is absolutely nothing in the starting pitcher market but Pettitte and if he wants to play we have a lock on him too. The only way for the Yankees to "improve" this year is through a trade and I smell one coming, a big one. The big name out there right now is Cabrerra but anybody interested in him won't do a thing until they find out what the Twins are going to do with Santana. The same people interested in Cabrerra are also interested in Santana and nobody has enough to land both.
