Went to the game last night. Only the 3rd game for me at the new place. In 3 trips, I have yet to actually sit in a seat. I just stand right behind home plate in the main concourse. Cant beat it. I think thats my plan forever. Buy the cheapest ticket I can and just stand.
Nah... regardless of how mediocre he's been, there will still be an NL team that will offer him more than the $12M or so he'd be guaranteed through arb. I'm pretty sure he'd get at least 3/$24M elsewhere... that's double the guaranteed money.
Granderson is (finally) rounding into form. That was a laser he hit out tonight. This is what I thought or hoped we'd be getting from him all season. Nice catch in CF, too. I also like the move to bring Joba in for the sixth inning; against their best hitters (including Cabrera, who is a monster), that right there was the important inning. The seventh and eighth won't matter as much.
I also agreed with the decision to bring in Joba for the 7th, but Boone/Wood aren't exactly making the 7th a walk in the park. EDIT: Wood strikes out 2 with the bases loaded to get out of it. That's why you want power arms in the bullpen.
Going back, AJax has a BABIP of .420 (.303 AVG.) Granderson's? .286 (.248 AVG) Granderson is coming around, but Jackson has been playing well all year. He strikes out a lot, but he gets hits. In the Yankees' lineup, probably hitting either first or second, he'd see some very hittable pitches, which would probably reduce the Ks. The pen has been utterly fantastic lately. That doesn't mean I wouldn't rather have Coke in it. I started liking Marte in the postseason last year, but since November he's been no better than he was pre-playoffs last year, and that's when he was actually healthy. Yes, Logan is superior to either of them, but the Yankees would be much better off with both Logan and Coke. I'm tired of Nova and Albaladejo not getting the call. What do these two need to do to get promoted? Kinghenry must be in Cashman's ear. :smile: I hear Aceves breaking stuff is filthy down in AAA. It'll be nice to get him back. I'm growing really concerned about Pettitte. I'm not very keen on the idea of CC, AJ, Hughes, Javy as our playoff rotation. I'm starting to like Moseley. No, he'll never be a real starter, but he has potential as a middle reliever, which is definitely nice to have. Moseley, Mitre, Aceves is a nice bridge to Wood, Logan, Joba, Robertson, Mo. Is there enough room for all of those guys though? Obviously Gaudin should be DFA'd as soon as Aceves is ready, but if/when Andy comes back, who is the odd man out?
Nah. He K's a ton because he swings and misses a ton. In the zone or out. Always has. And that BABIP is insanely high for AJax. He won't sustain it. He can't. I don't know that anyone has done that for consecutive seasons. And without that, he's a mediocre hitter. Which is fine. He's 23, and I'm sure he can/will improve, especially in the power department. I'm just saying that you're not seeing a representative sample this season. Jackson's floor is probably Juan Pierre. His ceiling is Granderson's best years, depending on if he can develop the power. I think it was pointed out earlier, but despite Granderson having a shitty year (until recently) in terms of his expectations, and Jackson having a fantastic year in terms of expectations, check out their OPS's. Grandersno - .758 Jackson - .760. So they're putting up the same amount of production this year, despite the different expectations. The argument in favor of Jackson (which is still a valid argument) wasn't about this year. It's about the future.
-I'm pretty sure that if the Yankees didn't make Granderson trade, Jackson wouldn't be in their lineup at all. They probably would've put Gardner in center and resigned Damon for left, leaving AJax to develop in AAA. -I'd take either Marte or Logan over Coke. Doesn't mean that I wouldn't rather have Coke than Chad Gaudin, though. -And, while I remain skeptical of Nova, you won't hear me say a bat thing about Albaladejo. He should've been in the bigs weeks ago.
My point on AJax is that he'd be better with the Yankees. In pinstripes he'd hit in the top of the lineup, whereas Granderson can't seem to get there. Whether that's this year or two years from now is a valid question, but unless Granderson keeps hitting the way he has since Long's magic dust was sprinkled on him, it was a bad trade. And I think everyone knows how I felt about bringing back Damon. I'd take Logan over Coke, but not Marte. I wouldn't even consider it. I would take Chan Ho over Gaudin though. Nova is going to be a very good pitcher in the pros. I'm convinced of it. I don't know why it's taking so long to give him a shot. Alby should be here. It's crazy for him not to be. Berkman was placed on the 15 day DL today. I'm glad we got him practically for free or I'd be fuming. "Mediocre" prospect Eduardo Nunez got the callup. :wink: (Which actually sank a few hearts, mine included, because early speculation was that it was ARod who was out.)
This seems internally inconsistent. I assume you're figuring that Jackson would be better on the Yankees because he has better hitters protecting him. But Jackson has had Cabrera, Ordonez, Damon, and Rayburn behind him for most of the season. And I don't see how Jackson would be at the top of the order on the Yanks. You think they'd move Jeter or Swisher down for Jackson? Not likely. See, how can you call it a bad trade? You said the bullpen has been utterly fantastic, and the production from Granderson and Jackson has been equal, despite Jackson being extremely lucky, and Granderson slumping. There are two reasonable times to definitively judge trades: when they happen (is it a good trade on paper?), and when the effects of the trade are fully apparent (20/20 hindsight). Three quarters of the way through the first season is not that time. Has Granderson been a disappointment so far? Yes. But - judging that trade on the day it was made - I still make that trade every time. How will it look after Jackson's BABIP normalizes? How will it look if/when Granderson finishes the year with an OPS 50 points higher than Jackson? If Jackson slumps next year and Granderson hits closer to his career norms (.820 OPS), is it suddenly a good trade? When you have a win now team (with Jeter, A-Rod, Posada, Mo all older players) then you trade prospects for players in their prime every time. Yes, we do. But don't we also know that bringing back Damon wasn't a reasonable option at the time? Why would you be fuming over an injury? Shit happens.
So, in your expert opinion, when am I allowed to judge the trade? A year from now? Two years? Twenty? I would rather have AJax and Coke here now (and even Kennedy) than Granderson. Yes, I think AJax would hit in the top of the lineup. Swisher would be down toward the bottom. Coke would have made a very good bullpen better. Plus, he was pitching well when our pen wasn't. If Granderson starts hitting well all the time, and Jackson and Coke implode, then in a few years I'll say I was wrong. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. I did it with Swisher who I couldn't stand and now adore. I care about right now though. The future is what pitch counts are for. Right now, the combination of Jackson and Coke is much more valuable than Granderson. Plus, we'd have Kennedy instead of Moseley in the rotation. Damon was not an unreasonable option. Cashman just chose to pick that situation to swing his cock around at Boras. Instead we've brought in Wynn, Thames, Johnson, Berkman and Kearns to fill the spot Johnny Damon could have taken. I wouldn't fume over an injury. I'd fume over an injury on top of spending a lot for a guy who shit the bed from the day he walked to the day he got hurt. As I said, I'm glad we got him practically for free. That's significantly different from Granderson.
Why would Jackson be hitting at the top of the lineup? I have to assume that if Jackson were in the starting lineup he'd be batting 8th or 9th--the top two would still be Jeter/Swisher or Gardner/Jeter.
Swisher started the year in the bottom half of the lineup, so there's no reason to believe that Jackson couldn't have worked his way into the top of the lineup. And given that his OBP is .355 compared to Swisher's .363, and Jackson's better speed, I see no reason why Jackson wouldn't be in the top of the lineup.
Because Swisher is a better hitter than Jackson. You can't have your worst hitter at the top of the lineup. Plus, Gardner only hits at the top of the lineup when there's an injury, and he's better (and faster) than Jackson right now. Besides, for all this talk about Granderson being a terrible dissapointment and Jackson being so terrific: Granderson: 106 OPS+ Jackson: 103 OPS+ I like Jackson a lot, always have and always will, but if Cashman had to do it all over again, he would. Jackson's going to get better, and in the best case scenario, he becomes what Granderson already is. And that's not likely. The likely scenario is he becomes a .270 hitter with limited power, good speed and terrific defense.
I'm not gonna lie, throughout all of this discussion of the Yankees bullpen I totally forgot that Sergio Mitre existed. Good win today. I'm glad to see that the offense is definitively back.
