A game we had to win - for my sanity

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, bpilktree said:

They still got 4.5 years left on Hicks contract too.

If you think about it, Hicks’ 7/$70 mm contract is bigger in terms of total dollars) than all but three contracts in Orioles history — Davis, Jones and Tejada.   I doubt it’s in the top 10 of Yankee contracts, maybe not even top 20.

[OFFNY]

18 minutes ago, bpilktree said:

 

Hicks' contract extension and play so far are the type that kill mid-level spending teams, but for the Yankees they can just eat it if they have to and go get someone else. He has been hurt much of it, and very poor play when he has been in lineup. He can’t throw anymore, his speed has dropped off, and his bat hasn’t beenmuch. He also still has 4.5 years left at about $50 million overall for a 32-year old outfielder whom clearly past his prime. As I have said before, it isn’t just the big spending teams advantage to give out huge money for stars they can gamble on mid-level guys, and it won’t kill them for years they will just eat it if they have too. They don’t really have replacement in system, but I expect they look for one if this year ends up like the last two.

 

 

 

Thank you for this. I have pointed this out on numerous occasions, one of which was from 2 years ago in April of 2018 ......

 

 

On 4/24/2018 at 7:53 PM, OFFNY said:

o

The Orioles are not in the same neighborhood as are the Yankees in terms of payroll. If they were, nobody would be fretting losing Manny Machado to free agency with only a draft pick coming back in return. The Yankees don't have those types of anxieties.

 

Yes, $160 Million is plenty enough to put a good team on the field, and the Davis contract has turned out to be very wasteful, but that contract is now a major headache for the Orioles ........ that would not be the case if he were with the Yankees.

 

Now with the Blue Jays, I can see an argument being made for them being in a similar financial boat as are the Orioles ....... but not the Yankees.

 

The major difference between the Yankees and the Orioles in terms of payroll is that with the Yankees there /has been no "risk/reward" factor in terms of paying their players to stay and/or acquiring new and expensive free agents. For mid-market and small-market teams, if they splurge on a couple of highly expensive free agents that don't work out (like the Orioles did with Chris Davis), those teams will likely be moderately to severely hamstrung financially as a result of those signings for several years. The Orioles, in light of Chris Davis' most recent contract extension and the unresolved situation with Manny Machado (and now Jonathan Schoop, also) and his/their potential mega-contract(s), could be starting down the barrel of that type of situation over the next few years. For the Yankees, it doesn't matter if they spend a lot of money on free agents that either bust and/or don't live up to the expectations that they had of them when they gave them all of that money (Carl Pavano, A. J. Burnett, Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, etc.) Or for that matter, Derek Jeter in the last few years of his career. Jeter wasn't a free agent signing, but he was a player that was making boatloads of money at that time ($16 Million a year over the final 5 years of his career between 2010 and 2014), and he was nowhere near that type of money player in his last 2 years with the team. But for the Yankees and their short-term and long-term budgets, no matter ....... they can keep spending, with little or no repercussions. There is the luxury tax situation for teams that spend excessively, but I'm talking about repercussions that seriously/adversely affect their thinking and their general financial situation in any meaningful way. Sure, the Yankees would like to avoid the luxury tax when they can, but if they don't, it's not like it then will significantly change their overall situation at-large. They almost certainly would not be remotely considering the possibility of letting a player like Manny Machado leave via free agency (if he were on their team) with only a draft pick coming back their way. Their payroll has dropped some over the last 2-3 seasons, but that has been due largely to big contracts coming off the the books, not necessarily a conscious effort by the Yankees to considerably tighten their pocket strings.

o

 

[HowAboutThat]

1 hour ago, webbrick2010 said:

There pitching will probably get them back in the race, but from what I've seen their defense will keep them from winning anything major. Can't keep Judge in the OF, Hicks is over the hill, not even sure who there regular LF'er is but I've seen Gardner out there. Not the Yankee way from the Jeter years.

The pitching isn’t much, and the defense and lack of Baseball Smarts will kill them. The Jays were my sleeper pick for the division, even though they are sloppy on defense too.

I still think the Bosox will fall to Earth. Unless Cora has another scheme up his sleeve.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Philip

[OFFNY]

o

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Which is not to say that the Orioles don't deserve their share of criticism for bad decisions and/or bad contracts. The Chris Davis contract was a bad decision in the first place that wound up being a complete disaster in the 2nd place, due to the fact that his offensive output over the past 3 seasons (2018 - 2020) has been one of the worst for any position player in recent memory. The Mark Trumbo contract was also a bad one, as was the 2nd 3-year extension of JJ Hardy (the 1st 3-year extension of Hardy was excellent.)

They were all bad decisions, and critique of said decisions has its place ...... but it should also be noted that there is considerably more pressure on mid-market teams (like the Orioles) and especially small-market teams (like the Rays, the Athletics, the Pirates, and the Royals) to make these long, hard decisions that have little or no consequence for cash cows like the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Dodgers.

 

o

[Frobby]

24 minutes ago, Philip said:

The pitching isn’t much, and the defense and lack of Baseball Smarts will kill them. The Jays were my sleeper pick for the division, even though they are sloppy on defense too.

I still think the Bosox will fall to Earth. Unless Cora has another scheme up his sleeve.

It is way too early to write off the Yankees.   It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  They led the AL in runs scored last year, and they’ve finished in the top two four years in a row.   Right now they are 12th - does anyone really think that’s going to last?   I’m enjoying their struggles, but when 162 games have been played, they will be near the top offensively.   

As to their pitching, they have the best ERA in the league right now, and while their rotation isn’t scary once you get past Cole, their bullpen is top notch, as always.   I don’t think they’ll have the best ERA in the league all year, but they’ll be well above average.    

Bottom line, they’ve dug a very small hole in April that won’t be that hard to climb out of.    At some point their offense will get hot and they’ll be capable of going on a tear.   

I’m happy we got to play them 7 times early, before they got untracked.  


 

[HowAboutThat]

58 minutes ago, Frobby said:

It is way too early to write off the Yankees.   It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  They led the AL in runs scored last year, and they’ve finished in the top two four years in a row.   Right now they are 12th - does anyone really think that’s going to last?   I’m enjoying their struggles, but when 162 games have been played, they will be near the top offensively.   

As to their pitching, they have the best ERA in the league right now, and while their rotation isn’t scary once you get past Cole, their bullpen is top notch, as always.   I don’t think they’ll have the best ERA in the league all year, but they’ll be well above average.    

Bottom line, they’ve dug a very small hole in April that won’t be that hard to climb out of.    At some point their offense will get hot and they’ll be capable of going on a tear.   

I’m happy we got to play them 7 times early, before they got untracked.  


 

Shhhhh

“Smiles, everyone! Smiles!”

[OFFNY]

o

 

(ONE DAY LATER)

 

I needed this win, too.

 

o

[webbrick2010]

On 4/30/2021 at 5:36 PM, Frobby said:

It is way too early to write off the Yankees.   It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  They led the AL in runs scored last year, and they’ve finished in the top two four years in a row.   Right now they are 12th - does anyone really think that’s going to last?   I’m enjoying their struggles, but when 162 games have been played, they will be near the top offensively.   

As to their pitching, they have the best ERA in the league right now, and while their rotation isn’t scary once you get past Cole, their bullpen is top notch, as always.   I don’t think they’ll have the best ERA in the league all year, but they’ll be well above average.    

Bottom line, they’ve dug a very small hole in April that won’t be that hard to climb out of.    At some point their offense will get hot and they’ll be capable of going on a tear.   

I’m happy we got to play them 7 times early, before they got untracked.  

Definitely not writing them off, they will make the playoffs and will probably win the AL East, just think that there defense will let them down in the playoffs in key situations. Not a WS contender IMHO and that is all the Yankees care about.
 

 

[spiritof66]

 

On 4/30/2021 at 5:36 PM, Frobby said:

It is way too early to write off the Yankees.   It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  They led the AL in runs scored last year, and they’ve finished in the top two four years in a row.   Right now they are 12th - does anyone really think that’s going to last?   I’m enjoying their struggles, but when 162 games have been played, they will be near the top offensively.   

As to their pitching, they have the best ERA in the league right now, and while their rotation isn’t scary once you get past Cole, their bullpen is top notch, as always.   I don’t think they’ll have the best ERA in the league all year, but they’ll be well above average.    

Bottom line, they’ve dug a very small hole in April that won’t be that hard to climb out of.    At some point their offense will get hot and they’ll be capable of going on a tear.   

I’m happy we got to play them 7 times early, before they got untracked.  


 

I think that's right.

But I do see two reasons for hope. They have less balance and depth than in most years, so that they'll have problems in the event of injuries to position players (or Cole). And some of their position players appear to be declining rather than just slumping -- LeMahieu, Hicks and Gardner from age, Spencer, Sanchez and Ford because they're not very good. There's some room for hope, anyway. 

Of course, if things aren't working out in July or August, they'll trade for some good but overpaid veterans to patch the holes in the lineup.