The Proctor Is In

The Yankee brass are tossing around the idea of turning Scott Proctor into a SP in 2007. I'm not sold on this line of thinking as I've never been a huge Proctor fan.
From Newsday: "We'll probably have him proceed and prepare as a starter, because you can always go the other way, slide him down and reduce his workload. But it's hard to go the other way," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said yesterday as the general managers' meetings concluded. "But that's for another day."
The starting rotation has a lot of questions and I can understand that the Yankees want to prepare Proctor for this role if other avenues turn out to be dead ends. But let's not commit to this idea just yet. Like I mentioned, I'm not a Proctor guy. He's too inconsistent, which is sad because he was one of the Yankees' better relievers in 2006. But if you watched most of the games, you know what I'm talking about. You didn't know if Proctor was going to come in and get the big out or if he was going to give up a game changing HR. I can't remember the exact stat they flashed about Proctor during the broadcast of a Yankee game on YES, but it was something along the lines of he had given up 7 or so HRs after the 7th inning. I don't remember it exactly and I don't remember if they said anything about him leading the majors in that category. If anybody knows, lend it to this conversation. At times he was solid and dependable. At times you weren't really sure what you were going to get.
Proctor in my opinion is better suited for the relief role. He was a horse last year, appearing in a league-high 83 games and throwing in 100-plus innings. That's a lot to replace, especially when the bullpen is shaky as it is. I understand part of Cashman's job is trying to cut the payroll. The Yankees have being losing money the last few years, in large part to the $200+ million they pay in salaries. This might be a reason why they'd want to promote from within. The Yankees have in-house options I'd rather see them take such as Karstens and Rasner, or even Hughes and Sanchez if they feel they're ready. Taking Proctor out of the pen is going to make the bridge to Mariano a lot harder to cross. I really hope the Yankees aren't planning on making Tanyon Sturtze that guy. I don't trust him and would be happy if he got shipped out somewhere.
Proctor in all likelihood would end up being like Jaret Wright. Inconsistent and you'll be lucky if you get more than 5 innings. The Yankees had Jaret Wright, and not many of us liked him. Do we really need another Jaret Wright? It doesn't make much sense to move another Wright-like pitcher into that role. It's purely a cost savings move and I don't think it puts the Yankees in a better position to win.
I'd like to see this turn out to be nothing more than a contingency plan. If all else fails, turn to this option. If Proctor does get the call, I hope I'm wrong and he's lights out. Cashman knows what he's doing and his recent moves have me excited, but this move is better left as a plan B or C.
Peace, love and Pinstripes. Go Wolverines.
J

And The AL MVP Goes To...

Sorry Big Papi, you lose. At least according to those that voted over at ESPN.com. ESPN has a poll up on their MLB page questioning who should be the AL MVP. Here are the 5 choices and the % of the vote they received after 200,000 votes were cast:

1. Derek Jeter 39%
2. Joe Mauer 12%
3. Justin Morneau 16%
4. David Ortiz 24%
5. Johan Santana 9%

It's to no surprise that the American public sees Jeter as the MVP. But here is where the results get interesting. They also have the results broken down by state. David Ortiz is the top vote-getter in 4 states: Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. For those of you not up on your geography, those 4 states make up what is commonly known as New England. It looks like everyone in the upper northeast cast their votes amongst party lines. I can't say I'm shocked. This just furthers my point that most Red Sox fans can never look at things with an open mind. If you've ever visited a Sox blog or talked to a Sox fan, you know what I'm talking about. Not all of them are this way now. But the vast majority of Sox fans/bloggers think that they and the Red Sox are the high and mighty, and they can do and say no wrong. They fail to look at anything within MLB through any other set of eyes other than those that wear "red-colored glasses." The results of this poll is just another thing that supports that belief. I'm sure a lot of people will retort that Yankee fans are the same way, and I agree, most of us are. Myself at times included. But I like to think I can take off the "pinstriped glasses." I've read a lot of Yankee blogs that demonstrate that they can also. Sox blogs, not so much.
Now Ortiz wasn't the only one to win the states in his "home area." Justin Morneau was far and away winning in Minnesota. He was also leading in the Dakotas, and in Iowa, all of which border Minnesota. Jeter winning in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. No surprises there. Another thing that didn't surprise me, but may surprise some, is that Derek Jeter was the leading vote-getter in every other state. Based on that, I think it's safe to assume that the majority of baseball fans see Jeter as the MVP, not just we Yankee fans. I'm interested to hear Sox fans explain that one, as they appear to be the ones that disagree. Well to be fair, so do Twins fans.
But in the end it's not the public that decides. It's the Baseball Writers that have the ultimate say. We'll find out in a few short days as the winner will be announced on Tuesday. Something tells me Jeter will be adding another piece of hardware to his collection. As if Jessica Biel isn't enough.
J

One Man's Vision

Chien-Ming Wang deserved to win the AL Cy Young. The fact that he finished second to Johan Santana in the AL Cy Young vote is a travesty! An outrage! Just kidding. Santana was far and away the best pitcher in all of baseball last year. If you look up the word domination in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Santana. But still, you have to give props to Chien-Ming for the year he had. If you told me at the beginning of the year he'd win 19 games, I'd have laughed. I'll admit it. In 2005 I was a Chien-Ming doubter. When I was in Toronto in 2005, I had the chance to get his autograph, but I figured he wouldn't materialize into much, so I passed on the chance, though I did get it in April of 2006. Thankfully for the Yankees and their fans, one man recognized the potential in Wang, and that was Yankee GM Brian Cashman.
I just called up my friend Marty. he's coming over with his souped up Delorean. We're going to crank up the flux capacitor to 1.21 jigawatts and go back in time to July of 2005, circa the trading deadline. Come along won't you? 2005 was a pretty tough season. A season which would see us tied with Boston at the end of the regular season. It was arguably the toughest season Joe Torre had as skipper of the Yankees. Normally when a contender is heading into the stretch, they try to bring in a big bat or a hired gun to help put them over the top (i.e Bobby Abreu). When August 1 2005 rolled around the Yankees could have used a little something-something for the stretch run. And Brian Cashman, thankfully, did nothing. Why? Because everyone wanted Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano. Cashman had the foresight to recognize the talent he had in these two gems. Cano would eventually be the runner-up for the AL Rookie of the Year, and in his second year, he'd finish 3rd for the AL batting title. Wang wins 19 games and finishes 2nd in the AL Cy Young vote in his second year. Can you say thank you? I can. Thanks Cash! Thanks for not trading away the Yankees young talent like Cano, Wang, Hughes, Clippard, Melky, and Tabata. Thanks for not trading away the farm, but rather rebuilding it with quality prospects like Sanchez, Britton, Whelan and Claggett. Thanks for being patient and putting a winning team on the field year in and year out. I suppose I should thank King George for having deep pockets, for without his money, Cashman's job would be a lot tougher. Thanks George.
Cashman is a genius. If you think he's not, tell me why. I'd be interested to know.
J-Boogie

Why I Hate Derek Jeter

Two words: Jessica Biel. I've got to get me that cologne.
Way to go Jete, you lucky dog.
J
ps- that's the only reason why I hate him

Roll Of The Daisuke

I've been bagging blogging a lot on the Red Sox lately, and this post won't be much different. I just got done watching "Yankees Hot Stove" on YES. For those that don't know, it's an hour-long show dedicated to discussing the hot stove, as it applies to the Yankees and the rest of baseball. One of the main topics of this show was Daisuke Matsuzaka and the $51.11 million dollar posting fee the Red Sox doled out for the rights to negotiate with him. Several times this week I've mentioned that it seems like a lot of money, and it is. I've wondered whether or not it makes sense from a business standpoint. This is what I wrote a few days ago:
Plunking down $100 million to sign Matsuzaka may make the Sox money in the long run. Unless the Sox cut payroll or increase the costs of tickets and such, getting a positive return on their "investment" might be hard to do. From a business standpoint, I wonder what their plan is? Fenway sells out every game, so it's not like there is extra ticket or concession revenue to be had. Are they relying on the Japanese market to buy Sox gear? Seems like a tall order.
I had an interesting exchange today over on a Red Sox blog. They were trying to justify the posting fee as a great business investment and a good marketing move. I disagreed. Here were the start of my comments:
As for making money, where are these dollars coming from? The Yankees and Mariners made money primarily b/c they had tickets to sell. Sox games will sell out regardless. The Sox are gaining no additional revenue unless of course they increase ticket and concession costs, which is fine, IF they win. Then noone will care as much. The Yankees and Mariners had seats to sell. Hence the increased attendance figures for NYY since Matsui signed....... As for merchandising, you're not going to make close to $50 million when you figure in revenue sharing with 29 other teams, so you'll have to sell a buttload of merch to even make a dent in the $51 million. As for TV deals, there will be some cash there, both in broadcast and in advertising. A full time player like Ichiro and Matsui, is more valuable from an advertising standpoint as you get 162 games. The Sox are looking at 35 tops. Does revenue sharing apply to broadcast/advertising also? It's not as lucrative as you think, as the majority of the $ is to be had with ticket sales, of which there won't be any added income.
Pretty good take, wouldn't you say? Here was the response:
You make many presumptions with nothing to back them up......And to answer your question, there is no "revenue sharing" in MLB. There is a luxury tax that's based on a team's annual payroll. Revenue has nothing to do with it. That's why teams pursue additional revenue streams like luxury boxes, advertising, or a team-owned television channel like NESN or YES. It's all gravy
"No revenue sharing?" he says with a bewildered look on his face. Really now. The funny thing here is that this blogger was referred to as "one of the most savvy people when it comes to baseball." Maybe it was an oversight or confusion on their part, but still. My wife knows there is revenue sharing in baseball (no offense dear). So me, being the most savvy baseball fan I know, dropped in some language form the Collective Bargaining Agreement to make my point. I then went on to add that advertising revenue will be far less when you bank on a pitcher, than you do a hitter. Makes sense, right? A pitcher will get maximum 35 starts. A hitter can play in 162 games. More games played equals more opportunity to advertise. I was met with this response:
What will that revenue be? Please give dollar figures (or yen, if you prefer) and cite your sources. In other words, please explain on what you base your presumption that advertising (or merchandising, or broadcast rights) revenue will or will not exceed the money the Red Sox have spent for negotiating rights over the life of Matsuzaka's contract.
I won't bore you with my full response, but the short of it is I broke out some math and illustrated about how much merch the Sox would need to sell to make $51 million. I'm not a math genius and I'd need a degree in Advanced Calculus to be able to calculate an exact figure when you account for revenue sharing, but I made my point. My whole outlook on this deal was based on my logic and the assumption of how this whole deal will go. I had no source and I had no dollar figure at the time, but I do now and I love it when I'm right.
As I mentioned above, the big discussion on "Yankees Hot Stove" was about Matsuzaka. The panel consisted of SI senior baseball writers Tom Verducci and Jon Heyman, and NY Time senior baseball writer Jack Curry. For starters, neither of these gentleman believe this was a smart business move and none believed the Sox would get their money back. Then Mr. Curry dropped a figure that made me smile. He dropped a figure on how much revenue the signing of Hideki Matsui has brought the Yankees each year. That figure is $5-6 million dollars. That's some decent cheddar but at that rate, It would take the Red Sox 10-plus years to recoup their $51.11 million dollar investment. Mr. Curry further stated that Matsuzaka is only going to pitch in 30 or so games, where Matsui will play in 162, so the revenue would even be less than that. Another point I made thank you very much. I love it when people agree with me.
So I'll stand by what I've said many times over. This deal is a head-scratcher. If in fact the figures about the revenue Matsui generates are accurate, I see no way the Sox will gain a positive return on their "investment," especially if Boras negotiates Matsuzaka's contract for 3 years. Who knows? Maybe the Sox FO has the same outlook and their high bid was merely a tactic used to **** block the rest of the league from acquiring Matsuzaka? We'll find out just under four weeks. Assuming they do reach an agreement, I still see no way for the Sox to make money on this deal, without totally abandoning spending, which doesn't appear to be in the cards.
I've got an idea. Let's increase some ticket prices!
J

Baseball's Biggest Bargain

According to "The Rumor Mill" the Red Sox are closing in on a deal to sign free agent RF J.D. Drew. It's being speculated that Drew's price tag is 4 years, $56 million. According to my handy-dandy calculator, that's about $14 million per year. Right now this is all speculation. But it's fun to pretend, so let's say that this deal goes through and assume that the Red Sox sign Drew for $14 million per year. Do you realize that Drew would be making more annually than David Ortiz, the so-called face of the Boston Red Sox? What's wrong with that picture? Oh yeah, Scott Boras. Silly me.
If J.D. Drew signs with Boston and ends up earning more per year than Ortiz, than that would make Ortiz the biggest bargain in baseball. There is no way you can justify that Drew deserves more money that Ortiz. If you look at their 2006 numbers, Drew had a pretty solid campaign, hitting .283, with 20 bombs, 100 RBI, and an OPS of .891. Ortiz had a monster year, hitting .287 with 54 bombs, 137 RBI and an OPS of 1.049. No brainer as to who's worth more.
Despite being born 2 days apart, Ortiz made his MLB debut a year before Drew. Drew hasn't exactly been the picture of health in his career. He's averaged about 107 games played per season over his 9 year career. Ortiz over his 10 year career, has averaged about 104 games played per season, but he didn't really get any significant PT until he signed with Boston in 2003 when he had the first of many pretty big seasons. Over their careers, they have pretty similar numbers. Drew has a slightly higher average and OBP, but Ortiz has much better power numbers. We don't even need to look at recent seasons. Many people think Ortiz should have won the MVP last year, and many think he should win this year. Drew isn't even on the radar when you talk about MVP candidates. If Drew is worth $14 million a year, than the Sox are stealing Ortiz at the $12.5 they are going to pay him. I wonder how that makes Ortiz feel? But alas, it's all speculation, but it's fun to talk about this kind of stuff.
Scott Boras is a genius if he pulls this off. There is no way you can justify Drew's worth at $14 mill when you compare his value to Papi's. That's crazy. Regardless of Ortiz's salary, I think the Sox, or any team really, would be nuts to pay that much money for J.D. Drew. He's not worth that kind of cheddar. But the Sox seem to have deeper pockets all of the sudden. $51.22 mill to sign Matsuzaka. Another $12 million to pay him. Drew possibly at $14 mill. They've abandoned the you're getting $10 million per year MO that they gave to Varitek and Renteria, and tried to give to Damon. I wonder if losing Damon to NY has caused the Red Sox to rethink the way they do things. Some might say that in light of recent events.
The Yankee fan in me doesn't want to see Drew in Boston. A 3-4-5 of Ortiz, Manny, and Drew is a lethal combo. One I wouldn't want to face as an opposing pitcher. But to think the Sox might pay Drew more than they are Ortiz, well, that's just nuckin' futs.
J

The Second Coming Of Irabu

If you take everything into account, Daisuke Matsuzaka is about to become MLB's most valuable player in terms of dollars, and that's beyond ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned there is only player who is worth that kind of money, and that is none other than Steve Nebraska. The cool kids will get that. Here's what we know:

1. The Boston Red Sox had a winning bid of $51.11 million
2. Scott Boras is Daisuke's agent

The key bullet above is number two. If Scott Boras is involved, you're paying top dollar. And you're likely paying more than the player is worth. It's being speculated that Matsuzaka is going to end up with a yearly salary of roughly $8-12 million per year. For argument's sake, let's call it $10 million, and personally I think that's low. There is also speculation that Boras is going to angle for a 3 year deal so Daisuke can be a free agent before he's 30. The Sox I'm sure will want a 5-year deal, so they can understandably make more of their $51 million dollar investment. Boras will want 3, the Sox will want 5, so for argument's sake, we'll call it 4 years.
Now I know the posting fee doesn't count toward the salary, but for all intents and purposes, it kind of does, sort of. If Daisuke spends 4 years in Boston, that's roughly another $12.75 million per year if you take into account the posting fee spread out over 4 years. For those that are mathematically challenged, the Red Sox are going to pay roughly $22 plus million per year for Matsuzaka's services, or roughly $91 million in total. And that will likely come in closer to the $100 million mark. Matsuzaka? A guy who has never thrown one pitch in MLB? Someone tell me how this makes sense? 2 words: Hideki Irabu
And if you're wondering, I'd say the same thing if the Yankees were the winners of the Matsuzaka sweepstakes, especially if they bid $50 million for a guy that's going to play once every 5 days. I wanted him in the Bronx, but at that price tag, no thank you. That kind of money is much better spent on quantity AND quality. Think about what you could get for $100 million over 4 years.
Yikes.
J

Hey Big Spender

If it weren't for this whole Daisuke Matsuzaka business, there wouldn't be much to blog about. God, I love baseball's offseason. Hands down the greatest offseason in professional sports. You gotta love it.
I was surfing the web tonight, much like I do every night, and I came across a great piece by Michael Rosenberg, over at Foxsports.com. He, like many of we Yankee fans have been doing over the last few days, is drawing comparisons between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The title of the piece is "Sox fans can no longer whine about 'Evil Empire.' Sox fans, like it or not, your organization is just like ours.
To steal a line from his piece: "No more complaining about the Yankees' payroll, Red Sox fans. Your team is the second-fattest cat on the block." I'm curious if Red Sox fans feel as if part of their identity has been stolen, as Yankee payroll comments have been part of the Sox fans' repertoire for what seems like forever. You guys can't fall back on the "payroll argument" anymore. No more quips about the Yankees trying to "buy championships." Assuming the Red Sox fail to win the World Series in 2007, or miss the playoffs like they did this year, you can't even fall back on the "you have the highest payroll and didn't win it all" argument. What are you guys going to do? And you can try to justify this all you want, but it's not flying with anybody except with members of the RSN. I've seen, read, and heard comments such as "well, it doesn't count against the payroll." And "it's an investment." Hey, keep telling yourselves that. Whatever helps you sleep at night. The Sox dropped $50 million to negotiate with a guy, and going off the assumption the two sides reach an agreement, there's another $40-50 million. It may not all count toward the team payroll, but the Red Sox just dropped $100 million to sign and pay one guy for his services. Potato, potatoe. Or better yet, Red Sox, Yankees.
I can understand why then Red Sox want to be like the Yankees. Who doesn't want to win 26 World Titles? Who doesn't want to have one of the most recognizable logos in the world? Who doesn't want to break both home and away attendance records? Who wants to wait 86 years to win a World Series? Who doesn't want to win? To try and do this, the Red Sox took a peek at the Yankee playbook, but what they found is really no secret. It's a simple business practice. You have to spend money to make money. Plunking down $100 million to sign Matsuzaka may make the Sox money in the long run. Unless the Sox cut payroll or increase the costs of tickets and such, getting a positive return on their "investment" might be hard to do. From a business standpoint, I wonder what their plan is? Fenway sells out every game, so it's not like there is extra ticket or concession revenue to be had. Are they relying on the Japanese market to buy Sox gear? Seems like a tall order. Time will tell I guess. Now will spending money help them win? Any Yankee fan should be able to answer that one.
As I said the other day, the Sox are now no different in how they try to operate. The Yankees just do it better. Always have. Always will. Long live the Empire.
It's past my bedtime.
J

Let The Games Begin

Shh. Everyone be quiet. Do you hear that? Is that what I think it is? Holy frick on a stick, it is! I can hear the "Emperor's Theme" from Star Wars coming from the direction of Boston. It's nice to spend money and try to buy a contender, isn't it? I'd do the same if I was the GM of a 3rd place team.
Wow. The Daisuke Matsuzaka press conference couldn't have been more boring. To paraphrase: "Yeah, umm, the Seibu Lions have accepted the offer from the Boston Red Sox. We're, umm, not going to comment on anything. Umm, thanks for coming." Yeah, ti went something like that.
Now perhaps it was all of the leaked information that trickled out throughout the last week that made it so pointless, but it was totally void of suspense. It would have been cool to have not known prior to today. But what can you do? The real fun is just starting. The Sox have 30 days to strike an agreement with Matsuzaka and Scott Boras or he goes back to Seibu. Was the $51.11 million a serious offer, or just a move to block everyone else from getting him? Either way, the Sox are showing that they are all business. And that business is spending money. And the Yankees are the only ones that do that? Yeah right.
Here's an interesting piece from Jeff Passan at Yahoo. It's a good and interesting read. Needless to say, this should be a pretty interesting offseason. Warm up the stoves.
J

Yankee Wannabees

It's no secret to the smart baseball fan that the Boston Red Sox are ripping pages from the Yankee playbook. We all know this. It shouldn't come as a surprise. I was surfing the web today and came across a good column from SI's John Donovan. The title of the article is "Evil Empire Jr." and it draws comparisons to how the so-called "anti-Yankees" are operating much in the same fashion as their hated counterparts. Give it a read. It's well put together.
Right now the only difference between the Red Sox and the Yankees, besides the obvious domination of the Yankees over Boston throughout history, is their payroll. The Sox are no different in how they try to operate. The Yankees just do it better. Always have. Always will.
J-Boogie