Teixeira watch part IX....The final stages?

[EOGDOT]

Not certain that I would use the word shocking, but all does seem quite.

[isestrex]

Neither of these statements is true, IMO.

They do not have a great lineup anymore. Jeter fell off a cliff, Posada followed him. Swisher hit .214 last season. Cano? Please. Nady had a career year. Damon is a huge question mark. Who plays CF? Melky?? They have no idea what theyre getting from these guys this year, they werent that great last year and they are pretty much all huge question marks in terms of health AND performance.

Assuming they ink Manny

Damon CF

Jeter SS

A-Rod 3B

Manny LF-DH

Nady RF

Matsui DH-LF

Posada C

Cano 2B

Swisher 1B

I know most of that lineup is older and on the decline but it is far from toast. That's a solid lineup with a lot of upside. The only problem is (and the article did a good job explaining it) the defense is crap. With Jeter, A-Rod and Manny all getting older, they have Posada, Damon and Swisher to fall back on (all pretty much toast from the defensive side).

As for the pitching - well, AJ Burnett's best season by ERA+ is 122. Last year his OPS+ was 105. This guy isnt an Ace, he just throws as hard as one. CC? He's a stud. Joba? Very talented, but if we look at that starting pitcher slot (Lets say #3 starter) and divy up the 220-240 IP we expect from that role... well, that's ~130-140 of Joba quality pitching(going by what we can expect Joba to pitch per Verducci rule) and 100 IP of what exactly...? Ian Kennedy? Sidney Ponson? Then we have Wang - who is a massively overrated pitcher. He's above average. A 2-3 starter, but not front of the rotation stuff. He's also hurt by the Yanks' terrible, terrible defense (Which is another major reason they arent all that great). Hughes? No idea what youre getting there and he cant stay healthy. I actually HOPE they bring Pettitte back they way he's been performing!

I don't get your points...

CC is the Ace... Burnett nor Wang have to be

Burnett (when healthy as I said) is a GREAT #2

Wang shouldn't be relied upon to be the Ace (as he has been in years past) but now he settles down into the #3 spot where he belongs

Joba could easily put up #2 like numbers and he'll make a great #4

You don't have to have 4 Aces to be the best rotation in baseball. The Yankees definitely have a shot with what they have.

[RedDevil00]

I wasn't aware that the people on the Sun boards hated OH so much...but I see it from reading that joke of a thread.

[Since66]

And for good reason.

For a team that is a couple years of contention it doesnt make sense to sign 30 year olds who will, by definition, be entering their decline when the team is ready to compete...

I generally agree. But if you have a team completely made up of babyfaces, who'll teach 'em how to shave?

[PaulBako]

Can someone give me a link to the sun boards? I would like to see how it is there.

[timoore]

I think it is almost too late for Tex to sign somewhere before Christmas now. If it is important at all for him to be with his family at Christmas, wouldn't he take this week off from this whole ordeal to spend time with them? Wouldn't he want to wait to go through all the paperwork,physicals, and press conferences until AFTER the holiday?

[JTrea81]

Well if Tex is on a plane with Boras for Baltimore to hammer out the final details, one would think we'd hear something tonight.

[hihop07]

I generally agree. But if you have a team completely made up of babyfaces, who'll teach 'em how to shave?

This is why I am so annoyed with the Orioles' facial hair policy. Why enact this rule just because they think being a babyface makes the players look more professional? It's baloney if you ask me.

[alskor]

Exactly. Mussina won them 20 games last year. Replacing him with CC doesn't improve them as much as everyone seems to think. CC will eat up more innings, so he can rest the bullpen some. But, he probably won't win many more games than Mussina did.

Dont get me wrong - great pickup and one they needed to make... but theyre not leapfrogging the Sox or Rays with those two pitchers alone. That team has a mess of issues with guys in decline, injury prone players and terrible defenders. I think they would have been better off going with Lowe and his durability over Burnett, too. They do have the money to take that kind of risk, but they have soooo many question marks already...

[Palmer Esque]

Can someone give me a link to the sun boards? I would like to see how it is there.

Not trying to be a jerk, but just go to the Baltimore Sun homepage and click on the talk about it link.

[Birds08]

To followup on the Wild Bill discussion, didn't an insider named Dynamite break the Tejada trade news? I wonder if he'd come back to provide news on Tex.

[Gurgi]

I think Boras is pouting. I think the economy is pissing him off. Teams arent going all out this year.

The RedSox calling his bluff and the Angels getting out of the race limits their leverage.

[twoBshorty]

From that OC Register article:

Later, Boras said he has not closed the door to more talks with the Angels.

"Just because you get a pitch up and in doesn't mean you get out of the box," he said.

This is hysterical. No, Scott, you didn't close the door. But they did! What are you going to do, get a gun and go down there with a terms sheet and demand they negotiate with you?

I don't see the advantage of dragging this out another few weeks. From what we are reading, the teams involved have become set in their positions. All of which are short of the $200 million Tex wants. Does Boras think that if he sits until January 15 or whatever, some stupid team is going to lunge out of nowhere crying, "I give in! You can have $200 million!" Why would they do that if all the other teams are holding firm, which it appears they have thus far? He's been trying to bid the price up to that level for weeks now and it hasn't worked. It appears teams are finally getting wise to the game and are content to just sit and wait. It's not like Tex can threaten to go back to school or Japan or whatever. He has to sign whatever offer is on the table, and if it's not what he wanted, tough. Your market is what people are willing to pay, not what you think they ought to be willing to pay.

This is all a giant game of chicken. If teams aren't budging, Boras is going to have to blink first.

[Palmer Esque]

Well if Tex is on a plane with Boras for Baltimore to hammer out the final details, one would think we'd hear something tonight.

For some reason, when I read that, I got the impression of seeing Boras and Tex walking into the warehouse and upon entering AM's office, they see him smoking on a Cuban and drinking some scotch with a smile on his face.

[hatepaste]

Thats the thing - Mussina put up 200 IP of 3.37 ERA (132 OPS+) last season. The Yanks really needed CC just to tread water...

Yah my point. Mussina wasn't all that great last year, and their rotation stunk. I dunno. I guess if Wang, Burnett and Sabathia are all healthy, and good. You could throw Joba in the mix. They'd be good, just think there are a lot of other rotations I would take over that one.