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Post by burythehammer on Jan 22, 2014 16:33:14 GMT -5
It's hard to call Tanaka a panic move when they've been mentioned as the favorite since we knew he existed/was potentially coming over.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jan 22, 2014 16:34:28 GMT -5
The Yanks could well sign a starter also. Probably not a Jimenez or a Santana but I could see them signing someone like Garza still. If you are going to blow that kind of cash on Tanaka they probably have a plan. They want to win badly. It's primal. It's something we don't seem to get. They have to win. Losing isn't an option. They will max out the credit card if they have to short term because they want a product capable of winning every year. Anything else is unacceptable to them. And if this signing doesn't show that I don't know what would. Considering their situation, that's probably the correct strategy.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jan 22, 2014 16:36:06 GMT -5
What about not having an above-replacement infielder? Does that approach tend to work? It doesn't, which is why it's a good thing they have three, at least. Yeah they're banking on the stars and scrubs approach, which obviously has the potential to backfire, but it also has the potential to pay off big time, and that's without adding anyone else. So yes, their offseason does mean they're "back" in a sense, although I don't think they really went anywhere, just had injuries and ran bad for a year. I'll take the under on that.
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 22, 2014 16:38:24 GMT -5
It doesn't, which is why it's a good thing they have three, at least. Yeah they're banking on the stars and scrubs approach, which obviously has the potential to backfire, but it also has the potential to pay off big time, and that's without adding anyone else. So yes, their offseason does mean they're "back" in a sense, although I don't think they really went anywhere, just had injuries and ran bad for a year. I'll take the under on that. Well the definition of above replacement is over 0.0 WAR so technically he's right. But not many teams that hope to make the playoffs have ~1.0 WAR players at 3 IF positions especially when it's so old and they have no depth.
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Post by burythehammer on Jan 22, 2014 16:41:46 GMT -5
I think you guys are taking this "infield" thing a bit too far as if it's more than just a convenient way to group players. I don't think it's that rare for a playoff team to have three 1 WAR players combined between the starting lineup and rotation.
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Post by pedroelgrande on Jan 22, 2014 16:47:14 GMT -5
I'm not betting against the Yankees. They'll find some magic poison and the guy you least expect will have a good year.
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Post by grandsalami on Jan 22, 2014 16:48:07 GMT -5
I think you guys are taking this "infield" thing a bit too far as if it's more than just a convenient way to group players. I don't think it's that rare for a playoff team to have three 1 WAR players combined between the starting lineup and rotation. Jeter, is old coming off a bad injury, Tex had a bad wrist injury (and is behind schedule according to reports) and could take a while to get his power back (see ortiz), they lost their best (and one of the best) 2B to SEA… They have no a-rod at third…..
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Jan 22, 2014 16:51:43 GMT -5
They didn't know until recently what the result would be for Arod. They now have Arod's cash for this year. And they probably were willing to go up to $30 mil for Infante. Cashman came out and said something to the effect that "Infante doesn't know it yet but he's a Yankee". Omar leveraged that into a decent deal for himself.
Cashman should be fired on the spot. Ushered to the door years ago. But he is doing it largely the way ownership wants him to do it. Win now, every year, at all cost. The Yankee way.
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Post by jmei on Jan 22, 2014 16:51:46 GMT -5
The Rays bench is not bad but they have to have a healthy starting pitching staff and a healthy Longoria or they are out of it. They cannot withstand losing any of those top guys. And sometimes players can just have a down year also, particularly starters. We lost Buchholz most of the year and had the best record in the AL. Pedroia played hurt all year but we still won. In 2012, Evan Longoria missed 85 games with a torn hamstring, and the Rays still made the playoffs. In 2013, David Price missed six weeks on the DL with a triceps injury, Matt Moore missed a month with an elbow injury, and Alex Cobb missed two months with a concussion. The Rays did not have a single 200+ IP pitcher, yet still made the playoffs. I think they withstand losing their top guys fine, in large part because of their emphasis on depth and a strong farm system.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Jan 22, 2014 16:54:49 GMT -5
Maybe they saw more value in Tanaka than Cano. Didn't want to go 10 years for Cano. I see that the numbers indicate Cano was a better value but maybe they knew him better than we did, and didn't feel that they could count on those numbers going forward. As rock solid as they have been, maybe they know something we do not. Or then again, maybe they just thought Cano's agent was bluffing!
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jan 22, 2014 16:55:05 GMT -5
They didn't know until recently what the result would be for Arod. They now have Arod's cash for this year. And they probably were willing to go up to $30 mil for Infante. Cashman came out and said something to the effect that "Infante doesn't know it yet but he's a Yankee". Omar leveraged that into a decent deal for himself. Cashman should be fired on the spot. Ushered to the door years ago. But he is doing it largely the way ownership wants him to do it. Win now, every year, at all cost. The Yankee way.Again, the correct strategy for their team.
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 22, 2014 16:56:01 GMT -5
They didn't know until recently what the result would be for Arod. They now have Arod's cash for this year. And they probably were willing to go up to $30 mil for Infante. Cashman came out and said something to the effect that "Infante doesn't know it yet but he's a Yankee". Omar leveraged that into a decent deal for himself. Cashman should be fired on the spot. Ushered to the door years ago. But he is doing it largely the way ownership wants him to do it. Win now, every year, at all cost. The Yankee way. Except for the player they needed most - Cano. That is the dumbest thing they've ever done.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Jan 22, 2014 16:58:19 GMT -5
The Rays bench is not bad but they have to have a healthy starting pitching staff and a healthy Longoria or they are out of it. They cannot withstand losing any of those top guys. And sometimes players can just have a down year also, particularly starters. We lost Buchholz most of the year and had the best record in the AL. Pedroia played hurt all year but we still won. In 2012, Evan Longoria missed 85 games with a torn hamstring, and the Rays still made the playoffs. In 2013, David Price missed six weeks on the DL with a triceps injury, Matt Moore missed a month with an elbow injury, and Alex Cobb missed two months with a concussion. The Rays did not have a single 200+ IP pitcher, yet still made the playoffs. I think they withstand losing their top guys fine, in large part because of their emphasis on depth and a strong farm system. And the Yankees almost beat them to the playoffs last year with one hell of a ragtag group. Their pitching in 2012 was tremendous.
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Post by jmei on Jan 24, 2014 17:06:43 GMT -5
Moved some general AL East discussion to its own thread.
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Post by jmei on Jan 27, 2014 17:42:37 GMT -5
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Feb 1, 2014 23:44:20 GMT -5
www.baseballamerica.com/online/majors/international-affairs/world-baseball-classic/2009/267914.htmlTop prospects from the 2009 WBC: 1. Yu Darvish, rhp, Japan 2. Aroldis Chapman, lhp, Cuba 3. Hisahi Iwakuma, rhp, Japan 4. Masahiro Tanaka, rhp, Japan 5. Hyun-Jin Ryu, lhp, Korea 6. Yoennis Cespedes, cf, Cuba 7. Norichika Aoki, of, Japan Fun to look back on now. Last year's list had Tanaka at 1 and Abreu at 4.
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Post by sierram363 on Apr 26, 2014 9:14:32 GMT -5
After the first couple of starts, does anyone else think he can keep up this pace?
Right now, Tanaka is probably their ace (our rotation would probably look pretty sick if we got him). Seriously, his K/B ratio is Koji-esque.
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Post by rjp313jr on Apr 26, 2014 14:43:37 GMT -5
I hope he can keep it up. My fantasy rotation appreciates it. Fernandez, wainwright, tanaka.
But seriously, he will lead the league in HRs allowed if he keeps pitching this way so he's going to need to limit base runners to keep the ERA down.
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Post by taftreign on Apr 26, 2014 16:54:28 GMT -5
Tanaka vs Abreau for AL ROY front runners right now. Fun to watch except one plays for the arch rivals.
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Post by jmei on Apr 26, 2014 17:02:59 GMT -5
Don't count Xander out. If he adds power to what he's flashed to date, he'll be right there until the end, especially since RoY voters don't really consider defense
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Post by taftreign on Apr 26, 2014 18:49:25 GMT -5
Yes but that's why I said front runners. 9HR and 27 RBIs or 3-0 with a 2.15 era and 35 k's in 29.1 innings are no doubt ahead in the minds of many. I do expect a surge for Xander at some point as it has been his track record throughout the minors once he makes adjustments to the level. Still voters seem to love the international free agent rookies.
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Post by grandsalami on Jul 9, 2014 14:39:18 GMT -5
RT @georgeakingiii Masahiro Tanaka flying back to NY for an MRI on his right arm
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Post by Guidas on Jul 9, 2014 15:27:58 GMT -5
A good reporter will ask tonight if they did a baseline MRI on his arm BEFORE signing the contract or simply accepted Rakuten's medical info. A good PR manager will be completely forthright if the Yankees did their own MRI series before signing the contract OR parse the hell out of this if they relied on existing records (which may not have been up to date or of the quality or quantity that the Yankees are used to).
Also, given that most Japanese players are taught early on to play through pain and sacrifice for the team, it may have taken a lot to get Tanaka to speak up.
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Post by elguapo on Jul 9, 2014 15:38:25 GMT -5
Also, given that most Japanese players are taught early on to play through pain and sacrifice for the team. Should've gotten him the live chicken.
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Post by Guidas on Jul 9, 2014 15:43:04 GMT -5
Jobu approves.
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