Years from now, Cashman will look back and get on his hands and knees thanking the Rangers for acquiring Lee at the 11th hour and saving him from an embarrassment. Montero in a deal for Soria? I think I just might vomit.
Holy shit! Where the hell have you been?! I don't know if Montero for Lee could be an embarassment, but Montero for Soria, yeah, I'd vomit too.
A little bit of chaos the last couple of years. Everything's fine now, should be back for good. I'm a big Lee fan, but I honestly would've been furious if we traded a bat this special for a guy we can sign in a few months.
Cool. Glad to see you back! As for Lee, he's probably the only guy not named Roy or Felix I would trade Montero for. Honestly, my biggest fear was him winding up in Tampa. As a Ray, they would probably be unbeatable for us in a short series. I'm happy with the way things worked out in the end (though still irritated that baseball allowed the Rangers to improve so much off everyone else's dime.) The interesting thing about Montero is that the Yankees are now looking to keep him in AAA for a longer stay right now. Word is, they are comfortable enough with the way Cervelli is playing behind the plate to sacrifice the production at bat, in order to give Montero a chance to really make it as a catcher. Personally, I think that's really good news, even though I'm itching to see him with the pros.
Cashman will end up trading Cervelli for yesterday's newspaper and he will end up being a bigger star than Montero ever will. He may not have the power but he is certainly a better catcher.
I'll just file this one over here in the, "You're completely f'n nuts" category. Oops. Already full. Time to start a new folder.
Yeah Don, look, I adore Cervelli, but to say that he'll ever be in the same galaxy in terms of overall talent as Montero is borderline insane. I've said it before, if the Yankees get a serious offer of any decent talent in exchange for Cervelli, they have to take it. At best he's the third best catcher in our system. More likely the 5th.
I never said he was. I said if Cashman ends up trading him for nothing as is Cashman's way of doing things he will end up being a bigger star and he is a better catcher than anybody they have. Obviously why people talk about Montero as a first baseman which of course won't work here.
Well Cashman isn't going to trade him for nothing. As I said earlier, the team is actually happy with sticking with him for a while as they wait to see if they can make sure Montero sticks at catcher. Even if he trades him though, he'll never be more than a .250 hitter with little power and a good defensive catcher. He's never going to be the best overall catcher in our system, whether he hits his own ceiling or not. As for Montero at first, it's probably not even an option the team is considering. If I had to guess, the order of the team's intentions on Montero's future would be: 1) Catcher 2) Full-time DH 3) Blockbuster trade bait Maybe 2 and 3 get reversed if they get the right offer, but I can say with all-but-certainty that Montero is not in any future plans as a first baseman. EDIT: Don, not to pick on you, but you said it's Cashman's way of doing things to trade players who become stars for nothing. Who was the last guy we traded and got nothing in return?
It's like Romine and Sanchez don't even exist in Don's world. Trading away Cervelli (if that even happens) hardly leaves the Yanks hurting at the position. It cracks me up that the team is solidly in first with the best record in baseball and we have to hear bitching about how Cashman doesn't know how to run a team.
could be worse, could pull off a trade for Halladay and trade away Lee only to trade for Oswalt. Now that's some horrible GMing
Lee was dealt so they could get Halladay. I don't see the problem there. And what's wrong with trading for Oswalt? Yep. I think we covered this already.
Three reasons it's awful: 1) Lee is arguably better than Halladay in the first place. 2) After acquiring Halladay, they moved Lee for a terrible return package because they didn't want to pay him. 3) They then had to turn around and acquire another veteran starter, giving up assets for Roy Oswalt and his contract. They should've just held onto Lee, and they never would've had to give up assets for Oswalt. If they didn't want to pay him, they could've let him go as a Type A UFA and collected picks for him.
He might be, but if he is, that's quite disputable. I've had my issues with Granderson and that trade as a whole, but it's only been 4 months of baseball played since the players involved have had a chance to show themselves. Granderson is coming around. If Grandy hits .330 and hits 5 homers in the postseason people are going to be saying "Austin who?" I have to agree with you on this one. I have issues here and there with Cashman, but damn, the guy delivered a champion 10 months ago, and the team is currently significantly better than any team not named the Rays. Hell, they've actually got one of the team's all-time best records at this point in the season right now. They should not have dealt Lee. And didn't the trade come after Halladay was brought in? Nothing, except he's not even fit to sniff Cliff Lee's jockstrap. He's a best-move-available for the Phillies right now, but that doesn't make it a great move, especially considering they could have had Lee and Halladay as their 1 and 2. Yes, "we" did. However, I have yet to discuss it with AMJets, and I still don't agree that it was okay. I don't care what MLB told them they could do. MLB as an organization, one headed by the great Bud Selig, determined what the Texas Rangers could do with other teams' money. I have a problem with that, and will continue to do so.
No one said Oswalt was of Lee's stature. But they could not have had Lee and Halladay as their 1/2, as I was explaining in the other thread. It was a three way deal, sending Lee to Seattle, Halladay to Philly, and prospects to Toronto. So they could have kept Lee, when they didn't feel they were going to be able to keep him after this season, or they could deal him and get Halladay. So it's not "Oswalt or Lee". It's "Lee or Halladay".
The following should also be noted: Austin Jackson's OPS by month: April - .917 Since - .745 And his BABIP is still unsustainably high. Granderson's OPS for the season (and he's just starting to find his swing, it looks like): .754.
Well, let me disclaim at the same time. Phil Coke has a 2.34 ERA in 42.1 innings. We can't just view this as an AJax for Grandy trade. My only point is that while Granderson may have been disappointing thus far, we still can't make a definitive statement on the trade right now. I still don't believe it was a good trade, but I'm not going to sit here and villify Cashman for making it. It's far easier to villify him for bringing in Nick Johnson. :wink:
No, it's not "Lee or Halladay." Not if you want to win. You bite the bullet and pay both Lee and Halladay this year to win this year. If/when you lose Lee in November you get back a very nice pick in the draft, but you're also showing off your shiny new trophy at the same time. You either have the balls to win, or you can lose. As much as I dislike that Texas got Lee, I have to give them credit for using their balls and taking their shot at the gold.
