When will the Yankees come calling?

[southsider2k5]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-cubs-headlines

 

NAPLES, Fla. -- This time, the rumors almost certainly are right. The Boston Red Sox are getting baseball's top international prize, 26-year-old right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, provided they can close the deal with agent Scott Boras.

 

This means the Cubs are 0-1 in their pursuit of baseball's top free agents. They were one of seven teams known to have submitted a sealed bid to the commissioner's office, but it could have bigger implications for the White Sox.

 

 

Among baseball's biggest spenders, every move by the Red Sox requires a countermove by the New York Yankees, and often vice versa.

 

The addition of Matsuzaka to a Boston rotation that already includes Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett would give the Red Sox a major edge in starting pitching, forcing a response from the Yankees.

 

They could find a deal with the White Sox for one of their available veterans, most likely Freddy Garcia or Mark Buehrle, a better alternative than pursuing the two top free-agent starters remaining.

 

Both Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito bring questions, one of which is whether they want to leave the West Coast. There are so many teams interested in their services that the bidding process is problematic, even for the Yankees.

 

With a five-deep collection of veteran starters, the White Sox are in a strong position. Perhaps that is why general manager Ken Williams suggested that, for perhaps the first time since he took over for Ron Schueler six years ago, he feels no pressure to make a trade.

 

"This is kind of new ground here," Williams said. "The way I look at it is we could not have played worse last year, and we still won 90 games. You have to be very careful—I have to be very careful—not to fix something that wasn't broken."

 

Williams knows manager Ozzie Guillen wants more speed and probably believes he could improve in center or left field, if not both. He would entertain a deal involving a player like Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford, perhaps even including young right-hander Brandon McCarthy to get him, but the one area he knows needs improvement is the bullpen.

 

In a pair of trades made over the weekend, the Yankees acquired four young pitchers from Detroit and Baltimore—Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett from the Tigers for Gary Sheffield, and Chris Britton from the Orioles for Jaret Wright.

 

Baseball sources indicated the Yankees have been acquiring young arms to help them trade for proven pitching. Their roster already included two attractive young relievers, Scott Proctor and Brian Bruney.

 

Any deal with the White Sox could also include one of the pitching prospects ranked behind the supposedly untouchable Philip Hughes—Jeff Karstens and Tyler Clippard. If the Sox collected pitching prospects elsewhere, they could be more willing to include McCarthy in a package for Crawford.

 

The New York Mets are another possible trade partner for the White Sox. According to sources there have been preliminary talks about Javier Vazquez going to the Mets in a package that could include reliever Aaron Heilman or pitching prospects Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey.

 

While a formal announcement was being delayed, it appears almost certain that Japan's Seibu Lions will accept a reported $42 million bid from Boston for Matsuzaka. The Cubs, according to sources, submitted a bid in the range of $25 million to $30 million.

 

The Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks all reportedly participated in the posting process. Once the Lions formally accept their bid, the Red Sox will have 30 days to sign Matsuzaka, who is represented by Boras.

 

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry declined to comment Monday on media reports.

 

Hendry did indicate the Cubs are monitoring developments with another Japanese pitcher, left-hander Kei Igawa, who is being posted by the Hanshin Tigers.

 

He confirmed the Cubs had aggressively pursued Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kurodo, who re-signed with Hiroshima, in part because of an illness in his family.

 

The Cubs' interest in pursuing Igawa appears conditional on their success in landing other free agents, including Toronto lefty Ted Lilly and Arizona right-hander Miguel Batista.

 

The Cubs, it appears, aren't going to allow targets like Lilly and Batista to go off the market while they are chasing bigger names like Schmidt and Zito.

 

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[Balta1701]

Why is it that the Yankees are not only the team I don't expect to come calling, they're the team I least want to see come calling?

[southsider2k5]

Why is it that the Yankees are not only the team I don't expect to come calling, they're the team I least want to see come calling?

 

Britton, Sanchez, and Hughes have to be names that KW would like to see in return for one of his starters.

[Palehosefan]

I just can't fathom a team giving 42M just to negotiate with a player. You might as well go out and sign Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt for the money.

[munchman33]

I just can't fathom a team giving 42M just to negotiate with a player. You might as well go out and sign Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt for the money.

 

Who says they won't?

[Balta1701]

Who says they won't?

The 15 other teams with $20 million to spend and need of starting pitching.

[daa84]

Williams is in a fantastic position....early rumors are that 1/2 of the teams are seriously interested in Gil meche, and that vincente padilla is asking for 4 years 40 million....this means alot of teams are going to be looking for a starter, but not mediocre guys at a huge price, and if williams waits for guys like suppan meche and padilla to clear from teh market, alot of teams are going to be desperate for pitching. The power is in KWs corner, and i hope he waits to drive the price up and lands a huge score

Edited November 14, 2006 by daa84

[RME JICO]

Williams is in a fantastic position....early rumors are that 1/2 of the teams are seriously interested in Gil meche, and that vincente padilla is asking for 4 years 40 million....this means alot of teams are going to be looking for a starter, but not mediocre guys at a huge price, and if williams waits for guys like suppan meche and padilla to clear from teh market, alot of teams are going to be desperate for pitching. The power is in KWs corner, and i hope he waits to drive the price up and lands a huge score

 

There is one issue with waiting, it may drive the price up, but the specific players or deals KW is looking for may already be gone. I am sure he is not going to take the first offer, but I don't think he will wait it out too long either.

 

Just like last year, most of his work will be done before the Winter Meetings in early December. That should make for an exciting couple of weeks of speculation and rumors.

[Gene Honda Civic]

Britton, Sanchez, and Hughes have to be names that KW would like to see in return for one of his starters.

Britton is a reliever, so, meh.

 

Sanchez has injury issues.

 

Hughes will not be traded.

 

Clippard is the name you need to learn here. Durable. High strikeout rate. Good control. Young, or age appropriate for top prospect status, for his league.

[beautox]

Britton is a reliever, so, meh.

 

Sanchez has injury issues.

 

Hughes will not be traded.

 

Clippard is the name you need to learn here. Durable. High strikeout rate. Good control. Young, or age appropriate for top prospect status, for his league.

 

More info on Clippard from here

 

Tyler Clippard, 21, RHP (SP):

89-92FB, Good 2 seam fastball

Above-Avg 12-6 Curveball (75-78)

average to plus change,

plus command,

Excellent control

[southsider2k5]

Britton is a reliever, so, meh.

 

Sanchez has injury issues.

 

Hughes will not be traded.

 

Clippard is the name you need to learn here. Durable. High strikeout rate. Good control. Young, or age appropriate for top prospect status, for his league.

 

Logic is nice and all, but that all goes out the window when Boston steals the spotlight from The Boss. If the Red Sox get both Datsuska and Drew, the Boss will give his first born child to get players into the Big Apple, especially pitchers. Plus they know with the overvalue of starting pitching, if the Yankees won't give up what Kenny wants, someone else will, and then the Yankees are in even bigger trouble.

[Balta1701]

Logic is nice and all, but that all goes out the window when Boston steals the spotlight from The Boss. If the Red Sox get both Datsuska and Drew, the Boss will give his first born child to get players into the Big Apple, especially pitchers. Plus they know with the overvalue of starting pitching, if the Yankees won't give up what Kenny wants, someone else will, and then the Yankees are in even bigger trouble.

I see no reason to deal with the Yankees at all if Hughes is not involved.

[Gene Honda Civic]

There are no fingerprints of the Boss on the first two moves of the Yankees off-season, nor in the quest for Matsuzaka. It sure seems like Cash is the one running the show, which means no Hughes.

[southsider2k5]

There are no fingerprints of the Boss on the first two moves of the Yankees off-season, nor in the quest for Matsuzaka. It sure seems like Cash is the one running the show, which means no Hughes.

 

And you really think he will just stay out of it? I don't buy it for a second.

[The Ginger Kid]

I like the Mets trade idea. Deal Javy, keep the rest and add BMac. Kenny's right, they couldn't have played much worse and still won 90 games. A few tweaks here and there and we're set to make another run, IMO.

[fathom]

I like the Mets trade idea. Deal Javy, keep the rest and add BMac. Kenny's right, they couldn't have played much worse and still won 90 games. A few tweaks here and there and we're set to make another run, IMO.

 

I disagree about the couldn't have played worse part. We had an amazing year from Jermaine Dye, had about as good of health as a team can have for an entire season, and the American League is getting stronger with each passing day. If we stick with the team we had last year, we're just as likely to finish 4th in the division as we are first.

Edited November 14, 2006 by fathom

[Gene Honda Civic]

And you really think he will just stay out of it? I don't buy it for a second.

What was the last moves the Yankees made that had Georgy boy's fingerprints on them? I have to go back two years to find the Womack, (All george) Pavano, Wright (heavily George) and Big Unit (George mandated, Cash executed) deals. I suppose you could argue that Damon was George, but there was no arguing that he was a good player, whereas Womack is only a good player on an alternate planet, and Pavano & Wright's one-year-wonder status was not hard to predict. (I compared Pavano to Garland at the time, and Wright was bouncing around AAA teams a year before the Yankees gave him a 3-year deal.)

 

Also, Clippard arguably has a better resume than McCarthy did entering the '05 season when he was considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and clearly the Sox top prospect. Clippard has done just as well as McCarthy at every stop and has done most of it while being a year or more younger.

 

At similar stages in their career, Clippard has pitched three straight seasons of full-season ball (about 150 innings each year) while McCarthy had just 165 innings of full-season ball under his belt. It's not like he's a chump.

[southsider2k5]

What happened two years ago? The Red Sox won the World Series, and all of the sudden George went nuts. Now the Yankees are working after another year of not winning the ring, plus the Red Sox are threatening to take the spotlight away from them, including a pitcher they really wanted, while having basically nothing for a pitching staff right now. Stein has a big history of stepping in and forcing moves to get made, especially when his temper gets the best of them. You can bet if he thinks Theo and the New England Yankees are getting the best of him, he will call Cashman into his office and demand action. It has been proven out time and time again.

[Rowand44]

I disagree about the couldn't have played worse part. We had an amazing year from Jermaine Dye, had about as good of health as a team can have for an entire season, and the American League is getting stronger with each passing day. If we stick with the team we had last year, we're just as likely to finish 4th in the division as we are first.

So Dye had a fantastic year, he's really the only player on the team that regression cant be expected out of and it shouldn't be that much. Everyone single one of our starters underachieved and we got absolutely no production out of our leadoff hitter. For the talent we had, we really couldn't have played much worse.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

More info on Clippard from here

 

Tyler Clippard, 21, RHP (SP):

89-92FB, Good 2 seam fastball

Above-Avg 12-6 Curveball (75-78)

average to plus change,

plus command,

Excellent control

 

Would love to have Hughes, although that's not happening. Clippard doesn't really do much for me. He's more a #4, and we have enough of those guys.

[beautox]

What was the last moves the Yankees made that had Georgy boy's fingerprints on them? I have to go back two years to find the Womack, (All george) Pavano, Wright (heavily George) and Big Unit (George mandated, Cash executed) deals. I suppose you could argue that Damon was George, but there was no arguing that he was a good player, whereas Womack is only a good player on an alternate planet, and Pavano & Wright's one-year-wonder status was not hard to predict. (I compared Pavano to Garland at the time, and Wright was bouncing around AAA teams a year before the Yankees gave him a 3-year deal.)

 

Also, Clippard arguably has a better resume than McCarthy did entering the '05 season when he was considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and clearly the Sox top prospect. Clippard has done just as well as McCarthy at every stop and has done most of it while being a year or more younger.

 

At similar stages in their career, Clippard has pitched three straight seasons of full-season ball (about 150 innings each year) while McCarthy had just 165 innings of full-season ball under his belt. It's not like he's a chump.

 

I'd go so far as to say Clippard = McCarthy, hes got the same build, and i read that Clippard is adding a cutter to his aresenal. Your right at saying Clippard is nothing to scoff at.

 

Dealing Garcia to the Yankees for T-Clippard and some other peices and Vazquez to the Mets for Pelfry + +, would set up our rotation for a long time.

 

Sign MB long term.

 

'07 MB JG JC BM MP

'08 MB JG BM MP TC/LB/KMc/CHaeger

[bulokis]

Robinson Cano would be nice if yankees will part with him but I dont think so. Vazquez to the mets for prospects is a good deal for us.

[RockRaines]

If you trade one of our starters to the Mets or Yankees for top pitching spects, it makes BMAC expendable for Crawford IMO. Which is a nice situation to be in.

[Balta1701]

If you trade one of our starters to the Mets or Yankees for top pitching spects, it makes BMAC expendable for Crawford IMO. Which is a nice situation to be in.

Or we could just deal the guys we get from the Mets/Yankees.

[DBAHO]

I'd rather trade a Heilman to get a Crisp, then to trade B-Mac plus a spect for Crawford but that's just me.