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August 31, 2008

Sabathia: Opening Day Starter in 2009?

In general, I believe the Yankees should focus on building their team with young players through their farm system and not overpay stars. But the Yankees desperately need starting pitching and while I would have liked them to have seriously gone after Johan Santana, they exercised caution.

Now, Hank Steinbrenner wants the Yankees to go after C.C. Sabathia, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, with full force.
He wants the Yanks to now make CC Sabathia the highest-paid pitcher ever - an idea, by the way, that gestated elsewhere in the organization, but for which Hank will take credit.

Sabathia fills a major Yankee need: He is a true, workhorse ace whose fringe benefit is that he is lefty. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who remains close to Sabathia after once being his manager in Cleveland, told me at Shea recently that all things being equal, Sabathia would prefer to play in his home state of California and in the NL where he could hit. But the Yanks probably will not make all things equal. They have roughly $88 million coming off the books and plan to redirect enough into an offer Sabathia can't refuse.
But Sabathia and Santana are the kind of players for whom I don't mind overpaying. Young(er) players (even better, lefty starters) that are entering or still in their prime as to guys like Johnny Damon and Randy Johnson, who were given way too much or Carla Pavano, unproven and cashing in on one big season.

And the great thing about going after a free agent like Sabathia, the Yankees don't have to mortgage the future by giving away top prospects so they can have the best of both worlds by adding Sabathia.

Even if he'd prefer to pitch in CA for an NL team, the Yankees should make him an offer he can't refuse.

Posted by edsbaseball at 05:00 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 09, 2008

Manny Ramirez to the Yankees?

Manny Ramirez is tearing it up in LA (.464 BA, 4 HRs, 9 RBI in 7 games).  Most don’t question his ability to hit a baseball, but rather his motivation.  Apparently, his motivation now is to play for the Yankees to get back the Red Sox:

“He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox,” a close friend of Ramirez’s told The Post.

Of course, every free agent says he wants to play for the Yankees. They pay well, will always have a chance to make the postseason, and when they show an interest in a free agent, the price from other clubs skyrockets.

Considering Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, every imaginable angle will be played when the 36-year-old, a product of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, will become a free agent following the World Series.

The Yankees should stay away. They’ve stuck to a plan of trying to groom younger players and to not go after big time players like Johan Santana.

Offense isn’t the team’s problem.  And even though he’s still one of baseball’s best hitters, he’s beginning the downward slope anyways.

For a franchise that views success and lack thereof in terms of World Series rings, how much success has signing vets past their prime brought to the Yankees?  So, why should the Yankees pursue a 36-y.o. headcase?  They shouldn’t.

Posted by edsbaseball at 05:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)


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