Hideki Matsui has agreed to a one-year deal with the "whatever city they are calling themselves this year" Angels. Nothing but respect and well wishes for this great Yankee and class act. This guy drove in A LOT of runs for the Yankees from 2003-2009 and when he was hot, he was one of the toughest outs in the lineup. Lots of great memories of him, but I think what we'll all always remember the most is simply how totally locked in he was during the 2009 World Series. He seemed to be on a mission and I'm glad he got his ring with the Yankees. Sayonara, old friend. -------------
In another development, Roy Halladay goes to the Phillies in a big multi-team trade, yet they must part with Cliff Lee to get in done. Seems like an odd move, since Lee proved to be a big game pitcher in the postseason, is younger, and was willing to talk about an extension. It's all fine with me. Halladay is out of the AL and besides Seattle, nobody seems to have gotten any better. Nice.
6 comments:
Hate to see Matsui go, but I agree with the Yanks thinking. As the team ages, we need to DH spot to float some guys in and out and give some guys some rest. Posada alone can DH about 30-35 times a year, and A-Rod and even Jeter will need some time in that spot over the next few years. And if they sign Damon, he'll also once again spend some time there. Matsui is done in the outfield and would have eaten up too much time in that role. He's a prideful man and I hope he has a great season, except of course when he plays against the Yanks. The ovation he gets the first time he comes back to the Stadium should be tremendous, and rightfully so.
As for Halladay, I love the guy and really wanted him, but at least he's out of the league. I have not read or heard this anywhere, but perhaps the Phils were a bit down on Lee for not taking the ball on shorter rest in the World Series when some thought he should. The guy was simply great when he pitched in Game 1 and also very good in Game 5, so it would be hard to complain about him in anyway, but maybe he rubbed them the wrong way during the process. Other than that, I'm not sure why the Phils would have not just given the Halladay money to Lee.
Whatever.
Halladay is gone, the Sox didn't get him, the Phils didn't really get any better, and we'll see Lee maybe once or twice a year with the Mariners. I'll take that.
Good interview with Posada on the current state of the team, the rotation, and his own role on the team over the next few years:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2009/12/17/2009-12-17_posada_pitches_yanks.html
Hi everyone,
My brother suggested I post for him the following....
He would propose letting Jeter go at the end of his contract go and using the money to sign Mauer.
I think that is blasphemous.
I also think we can do both if the opportunity was there. My gut saus Mauer stays in Minny anyway....
I also think we should overpay Damon for 2 years to keep him without offering a third year.
I know there are cheaper younger options but I love him on this team. Go 2 years and 30 million, NO ONE will offer nearly as much. He'll feel "respected" and stay. I would much rather have a known quantity than Nick Johnson who will injure himself signing the contract and miss the whole year....
Too late for Damon. Yanks signed Nick Johnson about an hour ago. Fat-mouth Boras can't bluff the Yankees anymore. Nobody puts up with his nonsense. He said Damon wanted three years, the Yanks wanted to give him two, so it seems the talks went nowhere, or never even got started at all. Big loss to the lineup, but the Yanks were right on this one. Two years made way more sense for Damon.
Jeter leaving? Ridiculous. Never.
Yanks still need an arm. Lachty would have been nice, but Cashman always has a plan. Maybe Sheets? Or maybe he knows of some other guys who will be on the trading block come July that he can try and deal for. Same with the hitters. Obviously they have no interest in Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Some think Cash wants to save a few bucks this year because next year's free agent market is way better. I'm sure he's got his eye on a few guys. We shall see.
Here's your 2010 lineup:
1. Jeter
2. Johnson
3. Texiera
4. A-Rod
5. Posada
6. Cano
7. Granderson
8. Swisher
9. Cabrera
They might flip-flop Johnson with Granderson and tweak it a bit, but that's pretty much it.
- Alan
To clarify the Cliff Lee/Phillies theory: If he would have taken the ball in Game 4 and would have been available for Game 7, things might have played out differently for the Phils. They really seemed to struggle to patch a rotation together for the WS. All of the starting Yanks - CC, AJ and Andy - went on three days rest and said "give me the ball." You didn't get that vibe from Lee. Perhaps that irked them a bit. Again, just a wild theory. Have not heard it or read it anywhere. But other than that, I can't see why the Phils would pick up one great pitcher yet lose another, especially since both needed contract extensions, Lee was already on the team, Lee is younger, and Lee did pitch great in October for them. Plus, they gave up a prospect to get Halladay. Very weird move. - Mel
At first I was a bit taken back by the signing of Nick Johnson and then with the advice of Alan I went to look at his stats from last year. Nick batted .291 with 8 HR's, 62 RBI's (note RBI's not RBI), 99 BB's and an on base percentage of .426. These stats are not too shabby. He did however strike out 84 times. At this point Johnny Damon will not be signed by The Yankees. What I like about this move is it free's up salary money. Matsui and Damon made a combined $26,000,000 last year. Maybe the Yanks are freeing up some money to make a run at Joe Mauer next year. Mauer made $10,000,000 last season and will be looking for a multi year deal worth at least $14,000,000 to $16,000,000 per year. However, I still think they need to sign one more strong starter. There are still a few names still out there like Ben Sheets(coming off surgery), Jarrod Washburn, Mark Mulder and Brandon Looper. My opinion is the Yankees will not make a starting pitching deal and hold true to Phil Hughes and our boy Joba Chamberlain. I'm not sure I could take another year of Joba in a starting role. Brian Cashman stated that both will enter spring training in a starting role. Go help us! The one thing that scares me is the Yankees have not really gotten any better and Boston has. Their first three starters of Beckett, Lester and Lackey are dynamite. This "Big Three" will be tough to beat in the playoffs.
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