Our 2008 Roster

[VinnyTheMick]

Pitching, first off we must convince Pettitte to come back

Wang
Pettitte
Hughes
Chamberlain
Kennedy

5 Yankees from our farm system, all with filthy stuff. You hope Wang doesn't let his last 3 starts get to him & that Pettitte can stay healthy. I love our rotation's potential. This was a rebuilding year, we brought up 3 starting pitchers who will potentially be in our rotation for the next decade & we still made the playoffs. I'd much rather have a lose in the DS rebuilding season than a 3rd or 4th in the division rebuilding season.

We must re-sign Mo & Posada. Pick up Abreu's option because who the hell else is out there & give A Rod the 5 year 150 mill extension. I for one would like to see Joe return & think if he is gone then that could hinder our ability to re-sign our free agents, 2 of which have only played for Torre in the bigs. Be that as it may, I think the chances of Joe coming back are the slimmest out of the group.

I think this team next season has the potential to do amazing things. It still hurts to once again be watching an ALCS void of the Yankees, but this offseason more than any other in recent memory I am excited about our rotation.

Cashman, you have quite the offseason ahead of you. Resign who needs to be resigned. Don't sell the farm for overrated players. Don't let George's knee jerk responses influence your decision making.



Hey, only 4 & a half months til spring training......

[VinnyTheMick]

I've got to credit Luis Tiant of nyyfans.com for this breakdown of the 40 man roster & the potential free agents

Here goes

[VinnyTheMick]

Starting Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang

[JD76ers]

Nice work Vinny
Lots of work to be done this offseason

[Jose7]

dont know how you trust all those youngsters in the rotation. I know they are all supremely talented but that's a lot to depend on and put on the back for 20 year olds.

[PR07]

We need to resign ARod, Pettite, Posada, and Rivera; do whatever it takes. Use option on Abreu.

Do our best to resign Vizcaino and Molina but don't overpay, there are other options. Damian Miller and Javier Valentine are attractice backup catching options.

Out of that free agent list, the guys that interest me are:

Francisco Cordero: Power arm who can set-up for Mo, and close in two years or so if we can't find a better option, doubtful he'd accept such a role though...but money talks.

Kerry Wood: Has some filthy stuff and would be another power arm guy to come out of the pen. Health is an issue, but he's not a starter anymore. He'll probably stick with the Cubs though at a pay raise.

Jamie Walker: Solid power lefty arm who posted a 3.23 ERA for the Orioles last season and pitched well for the Tigers the previous season.

Jeff Kent: .302 average...20 HR's...79 RBI's....he can play first base, and he'd be a definate upgrade at the position. Jeff Kent, whose $9 million option kicked in earlier this month, is uncertain whether he wants to return to the Dodgers next year. "I guarantee you that if I were to make a decision right now, I'd say no - because that's how frustrated I am about not being able to get to the playoffs," he said.

Scott Linebrink: Has been consistently solid...but It's uncertain whether he has the stuff to have same success in AL.

Octavio Dotel: Has some electric stuff, but durability is an issue and ERA is not overly impressive. 2nd time around a charm?

Perhaps, a Japanese Reliever?

[nykgeneralmanager]

This team doesn't need such drastic changes, so hopefully nobody in the front office overreacts and tries to make ridiculous moves.

As long as we keep our lineup as it is (re-sign ARod, try to move Giambi so Matsui can DH with Damon in LF) that will be taken care of.

The rotation is interesting, as we'll essentially have three rookies. It may not hurt to go with a 6 man rotation to limit their innings, so maybe Pettitte-Wang-Hughes-Kennedy-Chamberlain-Mussina. I doubt the 6 man rotation comes about though. We really don't have to worry about limiting Hughes or Kennedy, just Joba. We can limit Joba's innings by making him the #5 starter and simply skipping him on off days and such when necessary. Overall, no free agent signings or trade acquisitions are really needed in the rotation.

The only area that needs changes in the bullpen. We need a lefty obviously, and a setup man. Those are really our only two "needs" going into the offseason.

Of course this is all dependent on Posada, Rivera, Pettitte, and ARod being kept.

[TKF]

the free agent list is pretty skimpy.. I agree with NYgeneralmanager but I do think we need some changes. Brining back the same exact team almost and expecting a different result is almost the definition of insanity.

i would not mind kerry wood as a set up man option, he has better stuff than farnsworth and viz, and we can keep the innings off of that arm to keep him healthy... I would like to see us add a versatile player to this lineup. i think matsui is on the swift decline...

[Pharmcat]

i like the idea of the 6 man rotation....use moose as the floater to fill in whenever needed or if they #5 cat needs rest

bring back chokerod
bring back Mo (you have to)

and Posada has to be brought back too b/c the other attractive option (pudge ) is off the table now

and TKF, if Jetes and Posada showed up to this postseason, things wouldve been different...it isnt possible to drastically change this lineup (who is gonna trade for giambi?)

the only thing we need to address is the pen

[TKF]

i like the idea of the 6 man rotation....use moose as the floater to fill in whenever needed or if they #5 cat needs rest

bring back chokerod
bring back Mo (you have to)

and Posada has to be brought back too b/c the other attractive option (pudge ) is off the table now

and TKF, if Jetes and Posada showed up to this postseason, things wouldve been different...it isnt possible to drastically change this lineup (who is gonna trade for giambi?)

the only thing we need to address is the pen

True, but lets be real, they were not the only ones. we got nothing from giambi, doug M, and really nothing from matsui.....

But look at it this way, we score enough off of sebathia in game 1 to win had we got a decent pitched game.... wang was a wreck..

Game 2, we still could have won, but that was our worst hitting performance, regardless of how well carmona did..

game 3, we hit, got great pitching from hughes and won..

Game 4. wang blew up, and we missed some hitting opportunities, but we still scored 4 runs and a decent pitched game could have won us that one too.... remember clevelands offense is not some big 5/6 run per game offense, they got away with a lot of free swinging bloopers, but when you are playing in front, those things happen, you are lose, you swing freely. when you are always working from behind, you play tight and tend to do things you normally don't do..

Our pitching really let us down, just as much as the hitting, and I mean pitching by wang...

[Pharmcat]

^^yea, but i cant see how we can make wholesale changes

jetes stays
posada has to stay

no one will take giambi...matsui has to stay for the Japanese revenue

so in essence, there is no one who we can get to be a impact player this offseason

[SARGO127]

Cox, Horne, Gardner, Clippard for Haren
Marquez, Tabata for Crawford

Ger er done Cash!

[Wade2k6]

Major change isn't needed. Maybe trade Giambi, and bulk the bullpen up.

2008-2009 free agency is the real year they want to make a big splash. Tons of starters/relievers. Peavy, Sabathia, Sheets, Prior, Penny, Santana, Harden, Lackey, Garland, Krod etc. etc. Add one of those starters with Joba, Hughes, Kennedy, Wang and the rotation would be dominate.

Also, will have quality position players of need:Teixera, Crawford.

[nykgeneralmanager]

the free agent list is pretty skimpy.. I agree with NYgeneralmanager but I do think we need some changes. Brining back the same exact team almost and expecting a different result is almost the definition of insanity.

i would not mind kerry wood as a set up man option, he has better stuff than farnsworth and viz, and we can keep the innings off of that arm to keep him healthy... I would like to see us add a versatile player to this lineup. i think matsui is on the swift decline...

Well it wouldn't necessarily be the same team. The hitting should be the same, and I see no reason why that should change since it is the best offense in baseball.

When I say no big changes, I just mean in terms of trades or free agents. The rotation will be different, just not through those ways. We will have Hughes, Joba, and Kennedy all year. That is already 60% of the rotation changing (although Hughes was a part of the rotation at the end of the year).

As I said, the only place necessary for major changes is the bullpen. Leave the lineup alone (dump Giambi somewhere), implement Kennedy and Joba to the rotation full time, and go from there.

Next year will undoubtedly be a transition year. Although we will have a great offense, we have proven every year that will not win you a ring. And as great as our young pitchers are, I'm not so sure they will be exactly what we expect as soon as next season. So next year can be another ALDS exit before we take charge in 2009. So I guess I wasn't really expecting a different result anyway.

[cmaff051]

the free agent list is pretty skimpy.. I agree with NYgeneralmanager but I do think we need some changes. Brining back the same exact team almost and expecting a different result is almost the definition of insanity.

i would not mind kerry wood as a set up man option, he has better stuff than farnsworth and viz, and we can keep the innings off of that arm to keep him healthy... I would like to see us add a versatile player to this lineup. i think matsui is on the swift decline...

We had a very good offense this year... 968 runs... that's historically good. Sometimes the breaks don't go our way. Sometimes we get shut down by good pitching. But I wouldn't break up this hitting core. We didn't hit that well in the ALDS, but that's only 4 games. If our pitching was good enough to shut down other teams, I guarentee our offense would explode in the ALCS.

Nothing needs to be changed about our hitting other than a permanent 1B....

[34Celtic]

-= original quote snipped =-



We had a very good offense this year... 968 runs... that's historically good. Sometimes the breaks don't go our way. Sometimes we get shut down by good pitching. But I wouldn't break up this hitting core. We didn't hit that well in the ALDS, but that's only 4 games. If our pitching was good enough to shut down other teams, I guarentee our offense would explode in the ALCS.

Nothing needs to be changed about our hitting other than a permanent 1B....

Agreed, goal #1 should be to address the bullpen. Shelley, Andy, and Giambi can share first base next year if we can't get someone to play there long term. Damon, Matsui and Giambi can share DH, and Shelley, Matsui, and Damon can share left. There are enough AB's to go around and mix and match depending on the matchup. The #1 goal for Brian Cashman should be to get some relievers in here. Our rotation should consist of Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, Joba, Kennedy, and Moose. We have some young guys that proved they have potential, but no one to truely rely on.

This could all be null if Joe leaves, because I truely think Posada, Pettitte and Mo could all follow him.

[cmaff051]

The thing is... relief pitchers are a crap shoot. Look at what the Orioles did this past offseason. They spent $42 million on their bullpen and it didn't help at all. They had the worst bullpen in the league this year. Boston and Cleveland had horrendous bullpens last year but had terrific bullpens this year. I think it's entirely possible that the both of those pens could go back to suckitude next year. That's just the nature of relief pitching. Relievers are unreliable.

Cashman shouldn't throw around any significant money on relievers... just sign some low-risk, high reward pitchers and populate the bullpen with power arms from our farm system. Just basically throw crap against the wall to see what sticks. We don't need to be giving away a draft pick on a bullpen arm, unless it's an elite closer. Giving money to middle relievers almost never works (see: Kyle Farnsworth)

[34Celtic]

CMaff, I never said throw money at relievers, I said get some in here. I think you hit the nail on the head.

[TKF]

cmaff and Nygeneralmananager: Good post. I see your points, i just think our lineup needs a little more diversity. I am just tired like you guys seeing this first round exit. My friend is a red sox fan, and he is the most ignorant, idiotic fan at times.... Having to defend theyankee legacy to a team that has 1 championship in 80 years is assinine, but this jackass thinks that the redsox are better now because the yanks haven't won since 2000. He said the 4 rings are in the past... I hate that type of talk, they make it seem as if it was 20 years ago and none of the players were still on the team. Well I am holding on to that dynasty until jeter, posada and mo leave this team.. I know I am just venting, but I usually shut him up by mentioning that we still have 4 rings in the last decade and that the florida marlins over the past decade have more rings than the sox... LOL..

anyway back to the yanks.. I see what you guys said about our hitting, but it just seems the way we are built, the guys we have are playoff flawed for some reason..... this is going to be an interesting offseason, thatis for sure.. BWT.. what do you guys think of aaron Rowand, is he a Free agent? or maybe rocco baldeli, I know the guy is injury prone, hell he missed the whole year with a hamstring pull, but when healthy he is a hell of a player...

[34Celtic]

TKF...you realize your friend does that to piss you off and knows he is wrong right?

Aaron Rowand? for what? We have Melky, Damon, Matsui and Abreu...where will Rowand fit in? What do you want to score 978 runs instead of 968? We dont need to address our offense at all...we are the deepest hitting team in the league, we just got shut down by a team with 2 of the top 3 starts in the AL, and a guy in Paul Byrd who is a veteran who has good stuff and attacks attacks attacks. Sometimes the balls just bounce the wrong way