The Kei To The Rotation?

As I mentioned a few days ago, the Yankees were interested in Japanese LHP Kei Igawa. According to this article, the Yankees have won the rights to negotiate with the Japanese pitcher. The reported winning bid was $25 million, about half the bid the Red Sox placed to negotiate with Daiskue Matsuzaka. If true, this likely fills up the Yankees starting rotation. Wang, Mussina, Johnson, Pavano, and Igawa. Not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it. Hopefully, Cashman has a trick or two up his sleeve and finds a way to dump Pavano at the winter meetings. I think we'd all be happy if that happened.
From all accounts, Igawa is a pretty solid pitcher. Not quite Matsuzaka caliber, but pretty good nonetheless. This pretty much closes the book on Barry Zito and Andy Pettitte. I can understand why the Yankees made this move. Igawa's cost will likely be much cheaper than that of Zito or Pettitte. Cashman couldn't hold his breath either waiting for Pettitte to decide whether or not he's going to pitch in 2007. It's also likely that Pettitte, and Clemens for that matter, would feel like giving Houston another run, seeing that they are definitely trying to upgrade that ballclub. But again, let's hope Cashman has something on the burner and can still somehow make it happen. The consensus is to dump Pavano. He's by far the weakest link, but Cashman sounds committed to him, or at least to his salary.
I don't think this rotation is going to be playoff caliber, but I've seen stranger things happen. There are plenty of viable options on the farm if anyone gets hurt or falters. I think we're in good shape. We just need a first baseman.
I wonder what moves would have been made if the Tampa faction was calling the shots and not Cashman?
J

Bye Bye Bernie?

I heard a rumor today when I was listening to "Baseball This Morning" on XM Radio. If memory serves me correct, Orestes Destrade mentioned it. Orestes was the one that broke the rumor that the Red Sox had a bid higher than $50 million for Daisuke Matsuzaka, so I tend to think he knows what he's talking about when it comes to Japanese dealings. He did after all spend some time over there and I'm sure has many contacts.
He mentioned that the Yomiuri Giants were interested in signing Bernie Williams to a 2-year deal. While I don't want to see this happen, the move probably would make a lot of sense to Bernie. He obviously wants to play everyday and he's not going to get the chance in NY. He had a solid year last year and can probably still bring it. If I'm Bernie, I'd want to play everyday and I'd only want to play in Pinstripes if I stayed in MLB. He's been a career Yankee. I can't imagine he'd want to play anywhere else. Perhaps Japan makes the most sense.
I hope to see Bernie back in 2007. I think he can still bring a lot to the table. I wrote a piece called "Bring Back Bernie" back in late October. If you want to read the post on why I wanted to see him back, feel free to click on the link.
If anything, I really hope that the Yankee uniform is the only one Bernie dons as a Major Leaguer. I really hope if he decides not to retire and come back as a Yankee, he considers Japan before he signs anywhere else. It wouldn't seem right to see him wear another uniform.
J

We Want A Pitcher Not A Belly Itcher (Or A Guy Named Carl Pavano)

I was catching up on some reading today and came across a piece from the NY Post. From what it sounds like, we can expect to see everyone's favorite bust, Carl Pavano, back in Pinstripes and on the bump next year. Happy happy joy joy. Enter sarcasm here.
"I have [$16 million] in Johnson for next year so he is part of the five," Cashman said of the 43-year-old lefty who had back surgery in October. "I have $20 million over the next two years in Pavano, so he is part of the five."
If true, the Yankee rotation shapes up to be Wang, Mussina, Johnson, and Pavano with one open spot. Not what I would call threatening and it's far from what I would consider to be a postseason rotation. I can only assume that from Cashman's statement that the Yankees can't have Pavano's contract voided. He failed to disclose an auto accident and his injuries from the accident. Pavano trustworthy? Not so much. $20 million is a lot of money and I can understand why you can't just sever all ties. I think I can speak for 99% of Yankee fans when we say "trade Pavano." Cut your losses. He's not worth the headaches.
The Yankees are in need of a strong starter to fill that open spot. From what's on their radar, it's nothing I'm terribly excited about. The article mentions Gil Meche and Ted Lilly. I'm doing cartwheels. Enter more sarcasm here. Don't get me wrong, they're solid pitchers, but they won't get us to the promised land. The article calls the Yankees interest in these two, "lukewarm." It doesn't sound as if the Yankees are terribly excited either. The article also states "that the Yankees insist they aren't going to be players for Barry Zito." Personally, I think Zito is the best free agent the Yankees could get. But there is something that scares me about bringing him in, and that's the disappointments that mark Mulder and Tim Hudson have been since they've left Oakland. Oakland has a lot of foul territory and if you connect the dots, you can make the conclusion that these pitchers have been aided by the extra outs they racked up from what would be a foul ball anywhere else. I don't know how to quantify that. It's a theory, and it's one a buy into. Jeff Suppan is still available, though his name hasn't been mentioned in some while. I'm fine with that.
According to the article there is also a rumor that the Yankees may post a bid on Japanese lefty Kei Agawa. I don't know much about him, but from what I've read and seen from his stats, he may not be a bad option. I don't think the Yankees will break the bank if they do in fact post a bid, so I wouldn't be surprised if he lands somewhere else, likely Seattle from what I hear.
Right now I don't think the Yankees should promote from within. At least not right out the gate. They have the talent, but I don't think they are yet the caliber of pitcher that will solve the Yankees problems. I've previously discussed my thought on moving Scott Proctor to the rotation. Again, bad idea. So where would that leave the Yankees?
I'm starting to warm up to the idea of trying to bring back Andy Pettitte. He's been there, he's done that, and he's done it in a Yankee uniform. We know he can succeed on the big stage. And you never know, bring in Andy and you might be able to bring in Roger also. If you have the ability to bring in Roger Clemens, you do it. Getting Andy Pettitte to wear your uniform is a step in the right direction. It might be a little harder for the Yankees to sway Pettitte away from the Astros seeing that they just signed Carlos Lee and Woody Williams. The 'Stros are committed to winning. It would be pretty easy for Andy to stay in Houston if he chooses not to retire. I'm not sure if Pettitte wants to come back to New York. I remember when my friend and I were driving back from Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS (ugh bad night) we were listening to sports talk radio, probably WFAN, and a caller called in and brought up Andy Pettitte. He brought up some rumor that Andy left NY because of an ultimatum he was given by his wife. He was allegedly cheating on her, she found out, and said either we're out of here or I'm out of here with all your money. If true, that's incentive to leave and it's incentive not to come back. But for all I know, it's urban legend. If anybody knows the story, feel free to share.
It looks like the Yankees could have some pitching woes in 2007. I'm sure Cashman has a plan. He knows Steinbrenner wants a winner and quite frankly, what we have now isn't a winner. Come on Brian. Give us an early Christmas present, would ya?
Hope you all had a great holiday.
J

Thanksgiving Top 10

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd put up a list of the top 10 baseball-related things I'm thankful for this offseason. Feel free to post your own.
10) Gary Sheffield and Jaret Wright were traded
9) MLB on XM Radio
8) The Yankees resigned Mike Mussina
7) The Hot Stove, there's no better offseason in sports
6) Brian Cashman is the Yankee GM
5) This blog and everyone who reads it
4) I'm not a Red Sox fan
3) With each passing day, we're 1 day closer to pitchers and catchers reporting
2) MVP or not, Derek Jeter plays for the Yankees
and the #1 baseball-related thing thing I'm thankful for this offseason is,
1) I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee fan
.....and I'm especially thankful for my wife. She lets me blog instead of watching "The View" and "The Gilmore Girls." Though those Gilmores do have some witty banter. Thanks babe.
Happy Thanksgiving!
J

Jeter = MCP

You knew this was coming:
"While I know that voting for these awards is primarily based on differing opinions and statistical debates, it's also part of what makes baseball such a great sport. Having said that, I'm flattered and honored to have been considered for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. I want to congratulate Justin Morneau on this well-deserved honor. He is a special player, and I suspect this won't be the last time you will hear his name mentioned when awards are being passed out. You've heard me say it a thousand times, but winning the World Series for the New York Yankees continues to be my main focus. There is no individual award that can compare with a championship trophy, and I look forward to working towards that challenge again in 2007." - Derek Jeter
Jeter may have lost out on the MVP, but I think it's safe to say he'd unanimously be named Most Classy Player. Even the baseball writers couldn't botch that call.
J

Shenanigans

I'm calling shenanigans on some of these so-called "baseball writers." Newsday has listed here how each individual voted for the AL MVP. For those that don't know how the voting goes, it looks like 2 writers from each AL team's area gets a vote. There are certainly some eyebrow raisers. I'd love to hear the justification that some of them have for how they voted, because quite frankly, some of them just don't make much sense to me, so I'm calling shenanigans.
For starters, some one tell me how Joe Mauer gets left off 5 ballots? He won the batting title and was instrumental in the Twins run to the Central. Shenanigans on these 5:

1. Joe Cowley - Chicago Sun Times (Chicago)
2. Sheldon Ocker - Akron Beacon Journal (Cleveland)
3. John Hickey - Seattle Post Intelligencer (Seattle)
4. Allan Ryan - Toronto Star (Toronto)
5. Joe Roderick - Contra Costa Times (Oakland)

I find it interesting that Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe and Mail and Allan Ryan of the Toronto Star, both cast first place votes for Morneau and second place votes for Jeter. For those that don't know, Morneau is Canadian. Perhaps these two were swayed by a little national pride? Reverse their votes and Jeter is your winner. Something smells fishy? Shenanigans.
Johan Santana was named on 21 ballots and finished 7th overall. My question to those that voted for Santana is how can you not cast a vote for Chien-Ming Wang? Both had identical records at 19-6. Johan blew Wang away in many statistical categories, but each won 19 games and each lost 6. If you want to put a value on each guy, it was 19 wins and 6 losses. No two ways about it, equal value. It doesn't matter how you got there, just that you did. And both got their 19 times. Yet Wang had 1 vote cast for him; A 9th place vote cast by Eduardo Encina of the St. Petersburg Times (Tampa Bay). At least he got it right. The rest of you: shenanigans! And a special shenanigans to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Texas). He cast his number one ballot for Santana. They each were equally valuable to their teams. The numbers don't lie. you can't justify one over the other.
I want to know what Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times (Chicago) is smoking. He's the writer that cast a 6th place vote for Jeter. In my opinion his cast ballot is the worst of the bunch. Dye gets your second place vote? Excuse me while I cough and say the word "hometown vote" at the same time. Johan gets his 3rd place vote. See my Wang argument above. Ortiz in 5th? Even I wouldn't have scored him that low. A-Rod? How does A-Rod even rate in the top 10? And finally, everybody's favorite catcher, AJ Pierzynski. Could luck trying to sell that argument. There is no argument that you can make that justifies casting a 6th place vote for Jeter. Shenanigans Mr. Crowley. Shenanigans.
There were some other puzzling votes cast:

1. Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record (New York) cast a 7th place for Ortiz and a 9th place vote for Mariano Rivera. Rivera shouldn't have ranked and Ortiz was definitely not the 7th best player in the league. Shenanigans.
2. Dave Heuschkel of the Hartford Courant (Boston) cast a 5th place vote for Johnny Damon. Sounds like a little leftover love from 2004? Shenanigans.
3. Allan Ryan of the Toronto Star (Toronto), Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times (Chicago) and John Hickey Seattle Post Intelligencer (Seattle) all cast votes for A-Rod. Hickey cast a 5th place vote for Alex. I love A-Rod, but he didn't deserve to be on the list. Shenanigans.
4. John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press (Detroit) cast 7 of his 10 votes for players on AL Central teams. The three non-Central players were Jeter, Ortiz, and Frank Thomas. Now if you leave Jeter and Ortiz off your list, it's further proof that you're an idiot. His ballot included 4 Twins (Nathan, Santana, Mauer, and Morneau) and also featured Kenny Rogers. The Gambler? You've got to be kidding. To his credit, he cast his first place vote for Jeter. Shenanigans.

I would really love to know the justification some of these voters had for casting votes the way they did as there are a lot of puzzling things. It makes me question the integrity of the vote and its outcome. Casting a hometown vote for a guy does no justice to anyone. As I asked yesterday, what criteria do these baseball writers have to meet to be able to cast these votes? I feel many demonstrate that they just don't get it. Again, I point to last year's HOF vote. Walt Weiss? Gregg Jefferies? I rest my case.
But as Derek Jeter said, "While I know that voting for these awards is primarily based on differing opinions and statistical debates, it's also part of what makes baseball such a great sport." I'll second that. A lot of people don't even consider Morneau to be the MVP of his team, yet he had 15 first place votes. The majority of voters saw Jeter as one of the 2 best players in the league, but someone saw him as the 6th best. It's amazing how people see things so differently. Regardless, it's fun to talk about and debate. It's part of what makes baseball such a great sport.
Peace, love and baseball.
J

Moose Hunting (Repost)

Since the deal is finally official, pending Moose passes a physical, I thought I'd repost what I wrote last week. I'm very excited Moose is officially back.
Mike Mussina will be back in Pinstripes! This moves makes a lot of sense. Prior to the signing, the only guarantees in the Yankees rotation were Chien-Ming Wang and Randy Johnson. By bringing Mussina back, the Yanks now have just 2 "open" slots to fill. With the Jaret Wright trade and with Boston getting the rights to Matsuzaka, this was a no-brainer. Moose is still one of the better pitchers out there, and he was available. He was able to change speeds pretty effectively last year and there's no reason to think he can't duplicate that success in 2007.
It was no secret Moose wanted to come back to NY. It was no secret that he wasn't worth $18 million. I'm glad the 2 parties settled on an agreeable price. I'm hoping the Yankees take their Matsuzaka bid and plunk it down on some top-quality SPs. $30 million or so goes along way.
Barry Zito anyone?
J

Jeter Gets Jipped

The results of the AL MVP have settled in, and while I don't agree with the outcome, I've made my peace with it. Morneau is deserving of the honor, but Jeter was more deserving. In the post I made right after the winner was announced, I made the comment that Morneau was probably the most valuable player to his team. After seeing the results of the vote, I'm rethinking that position.
But first, how does anyone justify casting a 6th place vote for Jeter? I'm not even sure I agree with someone casting a 4th place vote for Jeter, but come on, a 6th place vote? That's absurd. I'd love to hear the justification on that one. How does this person even get a vote? I said the same thing about the guy that cast a vote for Walt Weiss on his HOF ballot. There needs to be some kind of criteria that these baseball writers need to meet in order to cast these ballots because some of them aren't demonstrating a solid understanding of the game. I'm talking about you Furman Bisher! Don't think I forgot about you. I'm also not sure I buy into the point system that correlates to each vote. The value of a first place vote is 14 points. A second place vote earns 9 points. That's a pretty big discrepancy. Jeter had more total first and second place votes than Morneau, 26 to 23. More writers felt Jeter was a better player. But I can do the math. Even if you make first place worth 10 points, Jeter still comes up 2 points short. I'm just criticizing the system and some of its voters. It definitely doesn't sound like an objective vote. Can you say Yankee-hater? 6th place???
Morneau ended up with a great season, but he wasn't nearly as consistent as Jeter. Jeter did it all year long. Morneau turned it on in early June. What value was Morneau adding when the Twins were struggling? Not much as the Twins were pretty far back in the Central. I won't dispute that Morneau was "arguably" the league's best player from June 8th through the end of the season. That accounts for less than two-thirds of the season! The award isn't for the MVP of the final few months. It's for the MVP of the entire season. To me, Jeter was consistent all year long. Some even feel that Morneau wasn't even the most valuable player on his team. The run the Twins made had as much to do with Mauer, Liriano, and Santana, as it did with Justin Morneau. It didn't help Jeter's cause that the Twins had such a great finish while the Yankees won the East going away. We can credit Boston's poor play for that one.
As Yankeefan1 pointed out in his comments on my last post, Morneau had 2 teammates finish in the top 7, Johan Santana and Joe Mauer. That means 3 Twins finished in the top 7. Let's not forget about Francisco Liriano either? If he stayed healthy, you might have seen 4 Twins in the top 10. The second highest Yankee was Alex Rodriguez, who finished 13th. Yes that's right. A-Rod? You can argue that the Twins would have fared equally as well if Morneau didn't perform as he did. You can probably argue the same points about the Yankees lineup being so potent. But Jeter was the catalyst and kept the team together when the Yankees lost 3 of their key players (Sheffield, Cano, Matsui) for a significant period of time in 2006. It's a great lineup up-and-down, but if you removed Jeter from the Yankee lineup, I don't care what you say, they don't do as well.
In the end, I'm sure Morneau got a little extra love for being a power guy. Hitting HRs is sexy. Stealing bases, moving runners around, and being a complete player apparently isn't. Just ask David Ortiz, he'll tell ya. There's an ill-conceived notion out there that it's all about the longball. Silly rabbits.
I don't want to take anything away from the great year that Morneau and the Twins had. Morneau did have an MVP-caliber season. Jeter just had a better one.
J

Mor-No!

There is no tie. Morneau is your MVP. The Yankee fan in me is bummed, but the baseball fan in me knows Morneau is deserving of the award. I still think Jeter should have won, but Morneau was definitely more valuable to his team than any other player in the league. More to come. Back to work.
Congrats JM.
J

Ready To Rumble

Where's Michael Buffer when you need him? The MVP races have the feel of a heavyweight fight, don't you think? A couple of juggernauts just spent 12 rounds going toe-to-toe, and now we're relying on the judge's scorecards to determine the winner. And you know the fight was so close that the decision has no choice but to be controversial. Howard vs. Pujols on the undercard. Jeter vs. Ortiz (or perhaps Morneau or Dye) in the main event. As Michael Buffer would say: "For the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world. Ladies and gentleman. Let's get readyyyyyyyyyyyy to rumbllllllllllllllle."
The Pujols/Howard fight is over and I personally thought Pujols put up the better fight. The judges however gave Howard the victory with a split decision. I think you can argue either way one's worthiness over the other. Both had monster years. Both hit for average, both had power, and both knocked in a lot of runs. Pujols hit for a higher average, had a higher OBP and a higher OPS. Howard was better in the power department, but one could make a case that Pujols, had he not played in 16 less games mainly in part to being injured, could have put up equal if not better power numbers than Howard. The stat that sticks out most to me is the number of strikeouts Pujols had compared to Howard. 50 to 181. That differential is insane. Pujols was 1 HR shy of having the same number of HRs as he did strikeouts. That's amazing. The Cards won the World Series. The Phillies missed out on the playoffs. The Cardinals weren't exactly dominant in the regular season and played in a weaker division, but leading your team to the playoffs should count for something, especially when the race is so close. I think in the end it came down to who was flashier. As they say, chicks dig the longball. Apparently, so do baseball writers. As a Yankee fan, I hope that doesn't ring true tomorrow.
We're about 19 hours or so from hearing who won the AL MVP. The Yankee Captain, Derek Jeter is moving up in weight class to take on Big Papi. On second thought make that several weight classes. To be fair, there are others worth consideration, but it wouldn't be the greatest rivalry in sports if we didn't make it Jeter vs. Ortiz: Rivalry Revisited. If you've ever read my blog before, you know I'm pulling for Jeter. That shouldn't surprise anyone. I've written many times before as to why. For those of you new to the blog or want a refresher, click here, here, here, and/or here. I won't bother getting into it again. From what I'm hearing, most people "in the know" agree with me. Those people being writers, analysts, radio and TV hosts. Most people are backing Jeter. As I blogged yesterday, most of the public agree. Which brings me to my this.
I was left an interesting comment from a Red Sox fan on my post yesterday. Perhaps interesting isn't the right word. More like puzzling?
"Ortiz has better numbers than Jeter. This doesn't prove that Red Sox fans can't see anything except through 'red-colored glasses'...this proves that Jerter's reputation is what people seem to vote on, not his actual stats."
Not so fast. As Luckyleftie, frequent reader of this blog, pointed out, Ortiz has better power numbers. Consider this: Who's average was higher? Who's OBP was higher? Who scored more runs? Who had more doubles? Who had more stolen bases? Who struck out less? Who knocked in more runs if you factor into account the number of runners they had to knock in? Who won a Gold Glove for their defense? Who's team finished in first? Who sees my point? The only thing Ortiz has on Jeter when you look at numbers is HRs and SLG, which go hand-in-hand. Do you care to rethink that statement? Furthermore, they try to make the point that people only seem to vote for Jeter because of his reputation. I'd love to rehash what I wrote but I'll just cut-and-paste the highlights from my comments:
"What does that say about Papi's reputation? He is after all "the most clutch hitter" in the game, right? It's commonly known, yes? Assuming Ortiz again finishes the runner-up, that would be 2 years running. His performance is enough to have garnered a reputation worthy that of Jeter's. Or maybe it's that Jeter's reputation carries throughout the country whereas Ortiz's reputation is limited to the New England states. Jeter's reputation goes hand-in-hand with his stats and his style of play. Apparently it's not Sox fans that are wrong, but it's the entire country that's apparently mistaken. Your assertion proves my point. As I and many others have discussed before, the game isn't all about power. Maybe in New England/RSN it is. The rest of the country is inclined to disagree. There's no way Ortiz is the MVP over Jeter. The entire country with the exception of New England/RSN apparently agree."
Pretty solid rebuttal I must say. I've yet to hear one solid argument for Ortiz being the MVP over Jeter, except from Red Sox fans, and I'd hardly call their arguments solid as evidenced above. I don't think I'm going to. And I'm supposed to believe it has nothing to do with wearing "red-colored glasses." Okay, he said in a sarcastic tone. Even I can take off the "pinstriped" glasses. When Jeter won the Gold Glove, I had a post making a case against that victory. I even went as far as saying Sox SS Alex Gonzalez would have got my vote. But a Sox fan rightfully admitting that Jeter had a better year than Ortiz? Good luck finding one.
At 2pm tomorrow, I'm predicting that the baseball writers will get this vote right. And by right I mean they won't vote for Ortiz. But alas, they're baseball writers. They've gotten it wrong before.
J-Boogie