Did everybody get everything they wanted out of the GM meetings? Good, great, grand, wonderful. Now onto the links!
- On Monday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled Aaron Judge, the last of the 3 2013 1st round picks. He's easily one of the most intriguing players in the entire system going into next season.
- On Tuesday, Chad Jennings of LoHud discussed all the problems the Robinson Cano contract situation is causing and could continue to cause the Yankees this offseason. Lotta moving parts and they all revolve around Robbie.
- On Wednesday, Vizzini of NoMaas made a case for signing Corey Hart, a name hardly seen around the Yankosphere or MSM hot stove coverage this offseason.
- EJ Fagan of IIATMS/TYA mused on the idea of pulling back the reins a bit on the offseason aggression and taking a more rebuild-based approach. That wouldn't make a lot of fans happy, but what it could set up for the future would be tremendously beneficial.
- El duque of It Is High... pointed out the early signs of the Robinson Cano media smear campaign as talks between he and the team draw closer.
- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB commented on the Yankees' need to improve their rotation next year and why it would be a good idea to try to add more than just the 400 innings Cash mentioned on the free agent market.
- On Friday, Tanya Bondurant of Pinstripe Alley discussed the Yankees' facial hair policy and whether it's become outdated in response to Brian Wilson's beard being the reason he won't sign with New York this offseason. My take, it absolutely is and it should be scrapped.
/has a beard
- Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits profiled Oakland A's shortstop Jed Lowrie as a new trade target.
- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes completed another all-time team exercise, this time assembling the all-time homegrown Yankee team.
Going with a little Wu-Tang this Friday, "Triumph" off their second album. Pretty sure this was the video with the computer animated swarm of killer bees flying around.
Enjoy your weekends, everybody.
Friday, November 15, 2013
What We Learned From The GM Meetings
(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)
As expected, the GM meetings wrapped up yesterday without any major deals being made or news being broken. The biggest stories were about things that didn't happen or aren't happening, like Masahiro Tanaka still not being posted, no market coming together for Robinson Cano yet, and a potential David Freese trade not materializing. Still, the Yankees were the most active club of the bunch this week, showing up in full force and scheduling meetings with all their top free agent targets. They didn't come away with any commitments but they did position themselves as the favorites for more than a few of the available big names. Along with establishing that favorable position, here's a few other things this week's meetings taught us.
As expected, the GM meetings wrapped up yesterday without any major deals being made or news being broken. The biggest stories were about things that didn't happen or aren't happening, like Masahiro Tanaka still not being posted, no market coming together for Robinson Cano yet, and a potential David Freese trade not materializing. Still, the Yankees were the most active club of the bunch this week, showing up in full force and scheduling meetings with all their top free agent targets. They didn't come away with any commitments but they did position themselves as the favorites for more than a few of the available big names. Along with establishing that favorable position, here's a few other things this week's meetings taught us.
The Most Important News Of The Offseason So Far
(Originally posted at IIATMS/TYA. The Photoshop is too good not to re-post)
Just picture it. Cash sitting there in his khakis and team polo shirt, Jay in a $10,000 suit and a pair of designer sunglasses with Memphis Bleek and Beanie Siegel flanking him, one of those giant bottles of Spades champagne on ice and a few Cuban cigars on standby to celebrate the new deal when it's reached. Straight up Swag City.
Cashman expects to deal directly with Jay Z during Cano negotiations. He met with agents for Beltran, McCann, Choo and others while here.I know sometimes I write things here that may come across as a bit ridiculous, and I'm the first to admit that there are instances where I intentionally add a dash or 2 of hyperbole to my posts to spark a reaction and discussion in the comment section. But believe me when I tell you that I'm being 100% honest when I say this. The idea of Brian Cashman and Jay-Z working together directly, 1-on-1, to negotiate Cano's new deal is the most fantastically entertaining possibility in the history of MLB hot stove season and if you don't agree then you have no sense of humor.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughSL) November 13, 2013
Just picture it. Cash sitting there in his khakis and team polo shirt, Jay in a $10,000 suit and a pair of designer sunglasses with Memphis Bleek and Beanie Siegel flanking him, one of those giant bottles of Spades champagne on ice and a few Cuban cigars on standby to celebrate the new deal when it's reached. Straight up Swag City.
The Real Reason Hal Gave Jeter More Money
Via a Jon Heyman report from Wednesday:
"The intrerest in Drew is interesting in that Derek Jeter, the Yankes' iconic shortstop, has already signed back for $12 million. Steinbrenner, who did that deal, has already talked to Jeter to warn him that they might seek a starting shortstop due to Jeter's status as a player returning from a severe ankle injury and missed most of last year. Jeter hasn't spoken publicly since signing, but he's said to understand the Yankees' shortstop interest after speaking with Steinbrenner."
So it looks like it wasn't just paying Jeter because he's Jeter, but rather paying him as a way to appease him while the team looks for better shortstop options. Either way it was still overbidding against themselves when they didn't have to, but if that was Hal's plan then that makes the decision look a little better than it did 2 weeks ago. The battle in the media would be even uglier if it revolved around Jeter's money and his playing time. It looks like Hal wanted to get ahead of that by basically paying Jeter to keep his and his agent's mouth shut so the team could look for a better present and future option without issue. Between this information and the news on a possible Brendan Ryan return, it looks like Jeter could be spending a lot of time at DH in 2014.
"The intrerest in Drew is interesting in that Derek Jeter, the Yankes' iconic shortstop, has already signed back for $12 million. Steinbrenner, who did that deal, has already talked to Jeter to warn him that they might seek a starting shortstop due to Jeter's status as a player returning from a severe ankle injury and missed most of last year. Jeter hasn't spoken publicly since signing, but he's said to understand the Yankees' shortstop interest after speaking with Steinbrenner."
So it looks like it wasn't just paying Jeter because he's Jeter, but rather paying him as a way to appease him while the team looks for better shortstop options. Either way it was still overbidding against themselves when they didn't have to, but if that was Hal's plan then that makes the decision look a little better than it did 2 weeks ago. The battle in the media would be even uglier if it revolved around Jeter's money and his playing time. It looks like Hal wanted to get ahead of that by basically paying Jeter to keep his and his agent's mouth shut so the team could look for a better present and future option without issue. Between this information and the news on a possible Brendan Ryan return, it looks like Jeter could be spending a lot of time at DH in 2014.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
