Do we need Johan to make the playoffs this year?

Do we need Johan to make the playoffs this year?



Redsox, Indians, Angels, Mariners, Tigers will be strong contenders for the playoffs this year.

we could be on the outside looking in if we don't get Johan.

There is absolutely no reason why the Yankees.. now that Boston has taken Lester off the table.. and the Mets still don't have as quality a farm system as our.. that the Yanks can't get a deal done without Hughes.

We have Kennedy, Betances, Horne, Tabata, Jackson etc etc to offer.. and they are all better prospects than what the Mets have offered.


I'm jealous of the Mariners.. I can't see the Yankees walking into Safeco and beating Eric Bedard twice in a 5 game series.. we need Johan for that.

goose
i am afraid we do, and we have to win it all. this is the last year on hallowed grounds, and that will play big once the season starts....get your tickets now!
that said, i dont think we need to give up any of the 3 kids...and even IF the sox get Johan ....in agreement with joe, jeter, andy and joba,....we dont need santana to win....

think of this
joba vs beckett
pettitte and santana (in the post season too ...ewww)
hughes and dice k!!

----- see....we dont need him!

I don't think so. We have a shot, but we're not a lock like in previous seasons. We either need A-Rod to play as well as he did last year, or guys like Abreu, Giambi, and Damon to step up and play consistent ball. Also, we need Pettitte to be as good or better than what he was last season, and a reasonable amount of production from the youngsters. Also a number of prayers or a $hitload of luck for our bullpen, and I think we'll be good.



no we dont! Wang will be Wang in the playoffs. Phil will be great, we'll have Pettitte be his clutch self. Joba will be unhittable, and Kennedy will pitch great with no1 knowing how.

If we can get Santana w/o Hughes, that'll be great. But we dont need him.




Phil may win 15, and Wang should win at least 15. Petitte at best wins 15, but it would be great to have an ACE like Johan to win 20. Believe it or not this team looks like a powehouse by adding one pitcher. They look like a good team without him.

The question is then will good make it to the postseason? Think about the fact that the bullpen will pretty much be relegated to 8 and 9 with Santana and Wang. Without Santana the pen will pitch at least three innings four of every five. This is where the problems will be exposed


I understand Cashman and Hal not wanting to give up the big 2.. chamberlain and hughes.. but seriously.. what is stopping us from trading some of the other prospects we have for Santana? Is it money? Has that ever stopped the Yankees before? Santana could really really put the Yankees over the top...and I hate to think we had a chance to get him and we didn't because of money.. thats not the Yankees way... 2 or 3 years ago we would have died to be in the position we are in today.. a chance to get the best pitcher in baseball.. Cashman needs to convince the Twins to take a deal that doesn't involve Hughes.... the fact is our deal with our other prospects is still better than what the Mets are offering...

santana, chamberlain, pettitte, hughes and wang

mussina as the 6th starter..

how can anyone not want this?
Edited 9:13 PM by THEGOOSE

I believe the Yankees can make the playoffs based on their offense. However, the AL is getting a lot tougher. To win in the postseason, they definitely need Johan Santana. This team does not have a dominant pitcher in the prime of his career and it's tough to win without one of those.

No, he said to give up soem of the other prospects for Santana.

A rotation of Santana, Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, and Chamberlain instantly makes the Yankees the favorites to win a short series. That is amazing rotation depth, and 4 of those guys will still be stars for the next 5 years.



that rotation would be the best in baseball

would do anything for that to happen..

give up kennedy, horne, even jose tabata, etc.

Goliath VS Goliath


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXfLrs7qyac&feature=PlayList&p=9E8A06EB90B266A8&index=3

BBWAA dinner a memorable one.


http://yankees.lhblogs.com/

The 85th annual New York BBWAA dinner was this evening at the Hilton in Manhattan. It was a great evening.

The head table included Denny McLain, Ryan Braun, Bob Melvin, Jake Peavy, Jimmy Rollins, Johnny Damon, Joe Girardi, Joba Chamberlain, Omar Minaya, Brian Cashman, Bobby Murcer, Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Craig Biggio, Goose Gossage, Billy Wagner, Jeff Wilpon, Dick Williams, Willie Randolph, Dustin Pedroia, C.C. Sabathia and Luis Tiant.

Damon received the Joan Payson award for community service, specifically his work with the Wounded Warrior Project.

A wounded Iraq veteran who now attends NYU was on hand to present Damon the award and the young man, who lost an arm, made a terrific speech about Damon’s generosity. When Damon reached the podium, he was nearly in tears then spoke eloquently about how important it is to support our troops. Damon’s father served in Vietnam and his emotions about the subject are genuine.

It was a great moment.

Ryan Braun and Jimmy Rollins handled themselves very well when they received their awards. Willie Randolph was actually funny, a big departure for him. Bobby Murcer received an award for his courage from Joe Girardi. The new manager of the Yanks made a nice speech and the crowd gave Murcer a standing ovation. Bobby looks great 13 months after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Yogi was amusing (as always) when he presented A-Rod with his MVP award. “You’re gonna win some more of these,” he said. “You’re pretty good.”

Denny McClain was hilarious and Goose Gossage seems so thrilled about the Hall of Fame. McLain and Tiant were given an award in memory of their great 1968 seasons.

Joba received a big hand from the crowd. Brian Cashman gave him the “Toast of the Town” award and Cash was fired up talking about Joba his potential.

Hank Steinbrenner was supposed to be there but canceled at the last second. Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal was there to represent Yankee ownership.

Along with Cashman and Girardi, the Yankees had several people there including Jean Afterman, Stick Michael, Lonn Trost, Jason Zillo, Mike Margolis and Jason Latimer. It was nice of them to support our dinner. Chapter chairman Dan Graziano of the Star-Ledger did a fine job as the master of ceremonies and kept the program moving.

I had a chance to meet several readers who were on hand. Tickets for the dinner are expensive but it’s a memorable evening if you’re a baseball fan.

Deal with Cano seems like a go
Perpetual smiler gets a contract ot man the keystone
By Tom Boorstein / SNY.tv

http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080127&content_id=1448874&oid=36019&vkey=32

Whenever the Yankees declare an organizational policy, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. The team said it would not negotiate with Alex Rodriguez if he opted out of his contract. He did, and they ended up negotiating -- if you can call paying someone $300 million a negotiation. So no one should be surprised that the Yankees, with Robinson Cano, have shied away from their trend of not negotiating contracts with arbitration-eligible players.

Cano, the effervescent, sweet-swinging second baseman, has four years left before he can become a free agent. With the proposed deal at four years, $30 million, the Yankees will cover those remaining years at a reasonable sum and then have options for what would otherwise be the first two years of a deal signed on the open market. The options, according to reports, would be worth a total of $27 million.

Cano is an asset but one that is easy to overvalue. He hits for a high average and with some pop at a defensive position. On the other hand, his patience hasn't developed in three seasons as a big-leaguer. His defense ranges from above average to well below average, depending on which metric is used and how much value raters place on their own eyesight. For the sake of evaluating this contract, consider him average.

Because Cano puts up juicy numbers in the traditional and counting stats -- batting average, home runs, RBIs -- for a second baseman, the Yankees' decision to buy out his arbitration-eligible years makes sense. If they go through the arbitration process, they're not going to get any bargains for someone who will regularly hit 20 home runs and pick up all the RBIs that come with hitting anywhere in the Yankees lineup. This year, he requested $4.55 million, and the Yankees offered $3.2 million. Either way, he's in for a significant pay increase over the $490,800, but the Yankees had to be thinking they were going to lose that battle.

Arbitration seems like one of baseball's shadiest activities. Teams are put in a position to downplay the value of the player. That can't breed good relationships between player and team. Teams don't always fight over sums of $1.2 million. They often debate much smaller sums. No one wants to hear he's not worth as much money as he thinks he's worth. The process has been known to breed contempt between player and team, so avoiding it with a long-term contract can keep some resentment out of the player-team relationship.

The player wins too. He gets security for the rest of his seasons before free agency. The player doesn't have to worry about being non-tendered -- not that Cano ever would be -- and he avoids the unpredictability of arbitration. Assuming the value of the contract is distributed evenly, Cano will make almost $2.5 million more this season than he would have without the deal.

The Yankees get their own advantage. Besides trying to guess the market value of an above-average offensive second baseman in 2012 and 2013, the Yankees also saved themselves the danger of a long-term commitment. If Cano had become a free agent in 2011, he probably wasn't going to sign for two seasons. Since the Yankees have options on him, they can pick up one at a time and not worry about promising money to a player during the early part of his decline phase. 2013 will be his age 30 season. These options are similar to the two-year deal signed by free agent Andruw Jones with the Dodgers. The options aren't not cheap, but they're low risk and don't cover a player's twilight. If Cano performs, he'll get a longer, lucrative deal. If he doesn't, the Yankees will be on the hook for $27 million. Worse things have happened.

In Cano, the Yankees have themselves a likable player who may always get too much credit because of his lack of patience at the plate. That doesn't mean he won't help the team, and that doesn't mean he's not fun to watch. Pay the man.

Twins may soon ask, 'Is this the final offer?'


http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/14471202.html


By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: January 27, 2008 - 7:23 PM

Indications from Twins officials are that this is a critical week in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.

The club has not set any hard deadlines yet but may soon tell the teams most interested in Santana -- the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox -- that it's time for them to step up with their best offers for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Twins officials over the weekend maintained that all three teams remain interested in Santana. They also disputed reports that lefthander Jon Lester has been taken out of any Red Sox package. Boston still is believed to have different packages under consideration, one led by Lester and the other led by outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Twins would like for the Mets to add outfield prospect Fernando Martinez to a package that includes outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Delios Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber. The Mets, who need Santana the most, have been reluctant to add Martinez to the deal, and other possible add-ons -- such as pitcher Aaron Heilman and outfielder Ryan Church -- have been mentioned.

The Twins would like a package from the Yankees that includes righthander Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera -- an option that some Twins players quietly prefer. Cabrera, with 16 assists last season, would join Michael Cuddyer (19) and Delmon Young (16) to give the Twins one of the best defensive outfields in baseball.

While the Twins would like to settle the Santana situation before spring training begins, they continue to indicate that they will bring him to camp next month if they don't receive an acceptable offer. If that happens, the Twins will either sign a free agent, such as Kenny Lofton or Corey Patterson, or look at prospects Jason Pridie and Denard Span. Span has told the club that he wants a shot at the job.

It remains highly unlikely that the Twins will sign Santana to an extension.
Becoming acclimated

The new Twins players are making a smooth transition into doing things the Twins way.

Former Astros Mike Lamb and Adam Everett told officials how surprised they were that former Twins greats Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva approached them to introduce themselves instead of the other way around.

Craig Monroe mentioned to Rod Carew that he was told by good friend Torii Hunter to be at Carew's hip throughout Carew's two-week stint at spring training. Carew said Saturday that he's looking forward to working with both Monroe and Young but wants to make sure he doesn't interfere with anything hitting coach Joe Vavra has in store for them.

Young last week filmed a commercial with Killebrew, Oliva, Carew and Kent Hrbek, who play the role of four wise men offering advice to a young hitter. On Sunday, Young said he was impressed with how everyone has welcomed him.
Etc.

• Lefthander Francisco Liriano, who was excused early Saturday when he became ill, couldn't even make it out of his bed Sunday.

• Pitching prospect David Shinskie passed a kidney stone on Saturday and was still recovering Sunday.

• Justin Morneau, who on Friday agreed to a six-year, $80 million contract, said his goal is to renovate one Little League field a year. He'll head to Vancouver, British Columbia, next week, where a field in his nearby hometown of New Westminster will being renamed in his honor.

• The Twins announced that 30,483 people attended TwinsFest, the third-highest total in the history of the event. A record 35,835 attended last year.

REPORT: SANTANA TRADE IMMINENT; METS HAVE EDGE


http://www.nypost.com/seven/01282008/sports/mets/report__santana_trade_imminent__mets_hav_148674.htm

- The end could finally be near in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.

And the winner is . . . according to a report yesterday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the answer likely will be revealed within the next 10 days, before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Of the three main contenders for the ace left-hander, the Mets New York Mets have emerged as the front-runner mostly based on their open willingness to deal top prospects to the Twins, but the Yankees New York Yankees and Red Sox still lurk in the shadows.

A Mets official said last night there's no way of knowing what Twins GM Bill Smith is thinking, but the official sounded optimistic the Mets could close the deal for Santana.

The Mets' package likely would include pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra and outfielder Carlos Gomez Carlos Gomez . The Twins also have sought outfielder Fernando Martinez, but Mets GM Omar Minaya hasn't been willing to include Martinez in a trade.

On Friday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman stated his position loud and clear, telling a gathering of fans at William Paterson University in New Jersey that he'd like to pass on Santana.

"My strong recommendation is we stick with our young pitching staff and keep it in-house," Cashman said. "That's my recommendation, and we've fought hard to take one step back to take two giant steps forward."

The Twins have sought a package from the Yankees that would include Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy and Jeff Marquez. In recent weeks Cashman has indicated the Yankees would listen if Minnesota lowered the asking price.

Of course, the possibility also looms that Hank Steinbrenner will ignore Cashman's recommendation and do whatever is needed to land Santana, who is seeking a $150 million contract extension over six years. He can become a free agent after this season.

The Red Sox remain a dark horse, with a package that would include pitcher Jon Lester and either Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury.

mpuma@nypost.com

QUOTE
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press expects a Johan Santana deal to get done within the next 10 days.
Walters doesn't list the Mets, Red Sox or Yankees as favorites, though he does say the Twins again tried and failed to get the Angels involved. ESPN's Buster Olney has sources telling him that Jon Lester is now off the table, suggesting Boston's current offer could be built around Jacoby Ellsbury. There's been little lately to indicate the Mets or Yankees have adjusted their offers.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Pat's Beside the Point

By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Sunday, Jan 27, 2008

http://www.ohio.com/sports/14462547.html?page=1&c=y
After the Indians' season ended in October, General Manager Mark Shapiro said he hoped to have a contract extension with left-handed ace C.C. Sabathia concluded by the start of spring training.

The other night at the Cleveland Sports Awards Banquet, Shapiro said he would keep talks alive with Sabathia until the last second, which includes right through free agency.

Maybe it's me, but this does not seem to bode well for a deal getting done by spring training.

Tonight, Sabathia will be in New York to pick up the hardware for his Cy Young Award. Eric Wedge (who will be picking up the Manager of the Year hardware) might want to tether himself to Sabathia — just to prevent the pesky New York writers (awards are presented at the New York Baseball Writers Dinner) from wining and dining Sabathia to convince him to play in the Bronx or Queens.

See, if Sabathia does not sign an extension, the big-money teams will all pony up to pay Sabathia the big money that comes with being a big-money team.

Consider that when the New York Yankees were trying to acquire left-hander Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in a trade, numbers for his possible contract extension were being discussed in the $20-million-per-year range.

If true, the Indians have to hope that Sabathia's fondness for Cleveland trumps the millions he can make in a city like New York — or Los Angeles or Boston.

Let's suppose that the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, one or the other, acquires Santana — either via trade or free agency.

Does it not make sense that the team that does not acquire Santana would go full bore toward acquiring Sabathia?

How in the world, after all, could the Yankees sit still if the Red Sox, the dreaded Red Sox, had Santana and the Yankees did not have a match?

If both of these players make it to free agency after this season, teams might need to go to Bill Gates for a loan to sign them.

With that on the horizon, loyalty is the only thing that might entice Sabathia to stay.

But can loyalty outweigh the difference between a four-year deal that the Indians might offer and a seven-year deal that Sabathia might get on the open market?

Shapiro is not discussing any details on talks between the Indians and Sabathia's ''people,'' so any contract figures are pure conjecture.

Word is that the Indians will pay market value for Sabathia, but that they will make the contract shorter.

So let's say for argument's sake, the Indians go to the $20-million-per-year figure for Sabathia.

Four years, $80 million is pretty good coin for a guy who makes his living throwing a baseball. But it's also not a seven-year, $140 million deal that might be available on the market.

The difference in those deals is only $60 million.

Is there enough loyalty and sentiment in the world to account for $60 million?

The Indians played the loyalty card with Jim Thome when they showed him a video extolling his virtues and promising a statue of him outside Jacobs . . . err . . . Progressive Field.

Then they gave Thome his contract figure, and he was ''insulted.''

Guys always get ''insulted'' in these talks at one time or another.

Why they get ''insulted'' when they're going to make more in one week than the entire neighborhood does in a lifetime is a mystery, but they do.

If Sabathia doesn't get ''insulted,'' he'll be the first.

Thome, though, was ''insulted'' and went to the Philadelphia Phillies, because they gave him a sixth year and the Indians had offered five. Same money per year, but one year less.

There is some talk that Santana wants $25 million. For each season. If Santana gets it, $20 million might ''insult'' Sabathia.

Usually when a player says ''It's not about the money,'' it is really about one thing: The money.

If it's not about the money with Sabathia, it would be a first for the Indians since the days of Toby Harrah.

Really, it's almost always about the money.

Which is why this ''loyalty'' thing, at this point, sounds like a tough sell.



BROWNS
Quality wins for Patriots

Of the many impressive achievements of the New England Patriots this season is this one: Nine of their wins have come against teams with a winning record.

This reality only embellishes the greatness of this team in New England.

One of the better Web sites dealing with football calls itself Cold Hard Football Facts (http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com). It takes a real look at the NFL, without bias, and gets behind numbers to explain what team is good and what team isn't.

One of the tenets of said Web site is a statistic it calls ''quality wins.''

That is, how does a team do when it plays other good teams?

The Washington Redskins, for example, were a playoff team, but they would suffer in the CHFF standings, because they went just 2-5 against winning teams.

The Patriots, though, are 9-0 in quality wins.

Which leads us to the Browns. Doesn't it always?

In 2007, the Browns played four teams with winning records and beat only one of them.

The Seattle Seahawks were the only team the Browns were able to beat that finished the season above .500.

This seems worthy of further examination.

The Browns' wins were over Cincinnati (7-9), Baltimore (5-11), Miami (1-15), St. Louis (3-13), Seattle (10-6), Baltimore (5-11), Houston (8-, the New York Jets (4-12), Buffalo (7-9) and San Francisco (5-11).

Losses were to Pittsburgh (10-6), Oakland (4-12), New England (16-0), Pittsburgh (10-6), Arizona (8- and Cincinnati (7-9).

So the Browns beat up on mediocre and bad teams, going 8-2 against teams that were .500 or below and 1-3 against teams that were above .500.

The Browns were good enough to beat the bad teams, but not good enough to beat the good teams.

It would seem reasonable to conclude that the Browns benefited from a weak schedule, since 12 of the 16 teams they played were .500 or below.

Further evidence of this fact comes when figuring the won-lost record of the teams that the Browns beat compared to the won-lost record of the teams that beat the Browns.

The teams that lost to the Browns went 55-105 (.344).

The teams that beat the Browns went 55-41 (.573).

Teams the Browns beat won 55 games, teams the Browns lost to also won 55 games. This is symmetry rarely achieved in sports.

And it surely shows the poor strength of schedule the Browns played in 2007.

Next season things will not be so easy. Two divisions in the NFL sent three out of four teams to the playoffs: The AFC South and the NFC East. The Browns play them both.

Now, things can change a lot with schedules from one year to the next. This season's did not turn out the way it was expected to turn out.

And Browns General Manager Phil Savage rightly points out that the rest of the AFC North plays the same schedule as the Browns, so things will be equal.

But let's take a look at quarterback Derek Anderson's numbers against winning and nonwinning teams.

In the team's 10 games against teams that were 8-8 or worse, Anderson completed 218-of-373 passes for 2,829 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.



Rating: 87.3.

In games against winning teams, he was 80-for-154 for 958 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions.

Rating: 70.8.

In one way this, should not be surprising. Teams usually win because they're good, so it makes sense that most quarterbacks would struggle against good teams and good defenses.

But the rankings disparity is large, and if Anderson is to take the ''next step'' (there's a lot of those ''next steps'' in sports anymore), he must maintain what he does against losing teams and improve what he does against winning ones.

What does this all mean?

Three things: 1) Statistics can be fun. They can be your friend.

2) The Browns really did have a weak schedule last season, and they took advantage of it.

3) Ten wins are still 10 wins no matter who you're playing, and even if the 10 wins came against Mount St. Holy Water, it still provides the chance for a great springboard for the future — if the Browns take advantage of it.



RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Got a few e-mails from angry Kent State folks who said my criticism of Haminn Quaintance was unwarranted. Quaintance was involved in a small ruckus late in KSU's win over the University of Akron on Wednesday, then taunted the Zips after the game before being ushered away by his coach.

There's no problem with this?

• Seriously, I can't blame KSU folks for defending their player, and for pointing out UA's role in the ruckus. Quade Milum, as they said, made things worse by being the third man in.

• But that doesn't make what Quaintance did OK.

Taunting UA after the game the way that he did almost invited another ruckus. Kent State coach Jim Christian deserves much credit for getting Quaintance away from UA's players.

• Always interesting that we tell our kids something and then ignore what we tell our kids when it comes to our sports teams. In this case, it'd be ''two wrongs don't make a right.''

• To be fair, Gary Richter, the Media Relations Director for the Mid-American Conference, said he expected no further discipline would be imposed because nobody was ejected from the game. So let's not make more of this than need be. Perhaps it was just emotions getting the better of players briefly.

• But let's also recognize Christian, who got Quaintance off the court after the game and stopped one of his players from leaving his bench to enter the ruckus. He also made it clear he did not want anyone throwing objects from the stands.

• This was the way to handle a ruckus.

• Really, I see no reason for throwing anything from the stands. Just like there's no excuse for chanting obscenities about an official's call or toward an opposing player. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather go to a game and not hear words banned from TV chanted in a public place where kids are present.

• The game Wednesday didn't need the incident that took place. It was too good of a game. Many teams play rivalry games without incident. KSU and Akron have as well. Let the next one be about competing and playing hard and well. Let it just be about basketball.

• Much was made of the fact that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was caught delivering flowers to his girlfriend in Manhattan wearing a walking boot.

Little was made of the fact that Brady had a horde of cameras following him while he was acting like a normal person.

Sad that our culture has gotten to the point that many people make their living harassing someone living his life just because he can play a sport.

• These interviews of NBA coaches between quarters of TV games? Stupid.

• Whoever is in charge . . . enough of the single-digit temperatures, please.

• Sorry, it's just too cold to continue.

• Until next time . . . there you have it.


Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.




After the Indians' season ended in October, General Manager Mark Shapiro said he hoped to have a contract extension with left-handed ace C.C. Sabathia concluded by the start of spring training.

The other night at the Cleveland Sports Awards Banquet, Shapiro said he would keep talks alive with Sabathia until the last second, which includes right through free agency.

Maybe it's me, but this does not seem to bode well for a deal getting done by spring training.

Tonight, Sabathia will be in New York to pick up the hardware for his Cy Young Award. Eric Wedge (who will be picking up the Manager of the Year hardware) might want to tether himself to Sabathia — just to prevent the pesky New York writers (awards are presented at the New York Baseball Writers Dinner) from wining and dining Sabathia to convince him to play in the Bronx or Queens.

See, if Sabathia does not sign an extension, the big-money teams will all pony up to pay Sabathia the big money that comes with being a big-money team.

Consider that when the New York Yankees were trying to acquire left-hander Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in a trade, numbers for his possible contract extension were being discussed in the $20-million-per-year range.

If true, the Indians have to hope that Sabathia's fondness for Cleveland trumps the millions he can make in a city like New York — or Los Angeles or Boston.

Let's suppose that the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, one or the other, acquires Santana — either via trade or free agency.

Does it not make sense that the team that does not acquire Santana would go full bore toward acquiring Sabathia?

How in the world, after all, could the Yankees sit still if the Red Sox, the dreaded Red Sox, had Santana and the Yankees did not have a match?

If both of these players make it to free agency after this season, teams might need to go to Bill Gates for a loan to sign them.

With that on the horizon, loyalty is the only thing that might entice Sabathia to stay.

But can loyalty outweigh the difference between a four-year deal that the Indians might offer and a seven-year deal that Sabathia might get on the open market?

Shapiro is not discussing any details on talks between the Indians and Sabathia's ''people,'' so any contract figures are pure conjecture.



Word is that the Indians will pay market value for Sabathia, but that they will make the contract shorter.

So let's say for argument's sake, the Indians go to the $20-million-per-year figure for Sabathia.

Four years, $80 million is pretty good coin for a guy who makes his living throwing a baseball. But it's also not a seven-year, $140 million deal that might be available on the market.

The difference in those deals is only $60 million.

Is there enough loyalty and sentiment in the world to account for $60 million?

The Indians played the loyalty card with Jim Thome when they showed him a video extolling his virtues and promising a statue of him outside Jacobs . . . err . . . Progressive Field.

Then they gave Thome his contract figure, and he was ''insulted.''

Guys always get ''insulted'' in these talks at one time or another.

Why they get ''insulted'' when they're going to make more in one week than the entire neighborhood does in a lifetime is a mystery, but they do.

If Sabathia doesn't get ''insulted,'' he'll be the first.

Thome, though, was ''insulted'' and went to the Philadelphia Phillies, because they gave him a sixth year and the Indians had offered five. Same money per year, but one year less.

There is some talk that Santana wants $25 million. For each season. If Santana gets it, $20 million might ''insult'' Sabathia.

Usually when a player says ''It's not about the money,'' it is really about one thing: The money.

If it's not about the money with Sabathia, it would be a first for the Indians since the days of Toby Harrah.

Really, it's almost always about the money.

More hardware for Biggest Cheaters of 2007--the Cleveland Indians


http://xmmlbchat.blogspot.com/


Tonight the cheater's boss Eric Wedge will receive manager of the year award at the New York Baseball Writers dinner (BBWAA). Recently Paul Byrd's even bigger boss Mark Shapiro won executive of the year at the Boston baseball writers dinner. The big hardware goes to the bosses of the biggest syringe user of 2007--ALDS champ Paul Byrd.

* The writer of this column in the Akron Beacon Journal seems to have fears about his guy Sabathia coming into the New York baseball writers group tonight to get his award, fearing one of the New York teams will sign the guy. The writer forgets a system is well in place to keep the Yankees from overspending but he thinks New York teams do nothing but throw money at anyone and everyone. This writer either wants to promote the usual envy and hatred or is lazy.

Why would the Yankees want to continue to pay half again their payroll ($100 million) in revenue sharing every year? Not to mention millions more in luxury tax? Not to mention the 40% penalty on new contracts at this point? It's the fans that pay, he forgets, the fans that can't afford to go to games. And it's the homegrown young players they want to see, not out of towners looking for their big cash bonanza.

* As far as the dinner, the Baseball Writers especially in New York are more concerned with their financial futures. Which emanate from Bristol, Connecticut, from Bud Selig at MLB.com, or from each other, the frat boys. Not from the New York Yankees or New York Mets. Dan Graziano, last years NY Chapter president, has nothing but contempt for the greatest present day Yankee stars, and on top of that, he has no class. He made a point of showing this in humiliating fashion at last year's dinner.

Baseball writers are most worried about currying favor with the Red Sox and MLB/ESPN. Dibs and Kevin even said this on their program recently(neither of them is a Yankee fan). So, don't worry about anyone in New York trying to get your guy Sabathia. Sabathia wouldn't want to be on the Yankees anyway. The Indians had the biggest cheater of 2007 in baseball, Paul Byrd, who wouldn't deny injecting HGH up to and including the ALDS, yet has completely skated on negative publicity. Syringes and vials in the hundreds all over the place, but he tells the media "it's a private matter." What happened to one Yankee who used it 2 times in 2002 while on the DL? He about had his career destroyed in vicious round the clock lies and slander.

* The Akron Beacon Journal should open its eyes--the Yankees want their home grown players, not out of towners looking to cash in. MLB owners have worked a system to prevent the Yankees from over spending and it's working.

Don't tase me bro, Don't tase me bro!!!!

Well, I feel the pain of all the bloggers who were unable to post for awhile, as I haven't been able to put any new blog items up the last two days. So I'll just comment on here:

There were a couple interesting stories out there the past two days -- colleague Ken Davidoff covered Brian Cashman's interesting remarks Friday night in which he ripped Bernie Williams, called out Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu for being out of shape last spring and was adamant that he does not want to trade for Johan Santana. Also, Hank Steinbrenner did a two-hour sitdown with the Associated Press.

I just got back from the Baseball Writers Dinner, which was held at the New York Hilton and was excellent. All kinds of baseball stars, past and present there. A few that Yankees fans will be most interested in include: Goose Gossage, Bobby Murcer, Yogi Berra, Alex Rodriguez, Brian Cashman, Johnny Damon, Joe Girardi, Joba Chamberlain. Many more, but those are some highlights. Damon, pretty much everyone agreed was the highlight of the night. He was honored for his community service and work with the Wounded Warrior Project. He was presented by a soldier who lost his left arm while fighting in the U.S. Army in Iraq, and Damon had a really tough time getting through his speech because he was so choked up.

17 days to pitchers and catchers.



Forgot to mention -- Long Island native Craig Biggio, who just retired after 20 years with the Houston Astros, was also honored.



Abreu and Damon won't be turning up out of shape this year. If Abreu wants work in 2009, he'll have to be right on his game from the start this season. I expect him to have a good year. Damon realises that his New York days may be numbered. He didn't like the move to left field last year and with Melky still around will be good to go when spring training starts. With a new manager, there will be a lot of guys who will have to get out of their comfort zones or they just won't be playing. I believe that the Yankees will have a good year and look forward to the start of the season.

Willie- "How you doing, Jimmy? Want to make some predictions tonight?

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/


To Rollins, who last spring famously proclaimed that the Phillies, not the defending champ Mets, were the team to beat in the NL East, Randolph said: "How you doing, Jimmy? Want to make some predictions tonight? You want to talk smack, go ahead, but you're on my turf.'' And to Biggio, to whom he presented the "You Could Look It Up Award," Randolph noted that Biggio had been hit by a pitch 285 times. "Get out of the way, bro,'' he said. "I know you're taking one for the team, but get out of the way.

''

Biggio presents Pedroia with Rookie award

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/


Link Posted by Gordon Edes, Globe Staff January 27, 2008 09:53 PM

NEW YORK--They gave out baseball's biggest hardware at the New York baseball writers dinner tonight, and retiring Astros second baseman Craig Biggio was the fitting pick to present Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia with the AL Rookie of the Year award. "What is there not to like about the guy?'' said Biggio, another hard-nosed little guy who turned 42 last December and played 20 seasons in the big leagues before deciding to call it quits. "His last name ends in a vowel, and Tommy Lasorda always said you always had to love a guy whose name ended in a vowel. He was obviously the cream of the crop. The thing that epitomizes him the most, is that every time I flipped on SportsCenter, the man's uniform is dirty. From what everybody tells me, he plays the game right, runs through first base every time, doesn't dog it...''
Pedroia, who sat between Mets manager Willie Randolph and the gargantuan C.C., Sabathia, the Indians pitcher who could have stuffed the Sox rookie in the breast pocket of his tuxedo, was smiling broadly when he accepted the trophy from Biggio. "That's awesome, man,'' he said to Biggio. "I've loved watching you play forever.''
Pedroia thanked his wife, Kelli, and his parents, Guy and Debbie, who were sitting together at a table at the New York Hilton, along with one of Pedroia's agents, Bobby Witt, the former big leaguer from Canton, Mass., who remarked on how apt it was for Biggio to be the one giving the award to Pedroia, who takes a similar approach to the game.
"Thank you guys for not booing me,'' said Pedroia to the assemblage of roughly 1,000 fans, the vast majority of whom were Yankee fans. Pedroia had mentioned earlier in the day that he expected to be booed, the way Jonathan Papelbon had been at last year's event. Papelbon was invited back this year to accept an award as the New York writers' choice as Series MVP, but he was a no-show. Paps was booed in absentia when they showed a video clip of him in action.
All the major award winners attended last night's event, where Johnny Damon, of all people, provided the night's most emotional moment. Damon was given the Joan Payson award for community service for his work with the Wounded Warrior Project, which supports severely wounded men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mets GM Omar Minaya and a veteran who had lost an arm in Iraq when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade jointly presented the award to Damon, who was visibly moved by the soldier's remarks. "Wow,'' he said, fighting back tears. "I'm not that emotional of a person. But for the freedoms we have, we all should pay more attention to gentlemen like Tony who go out there and fight for it...I'm going to try to keep spreading the word, to help these guys come home and help them to live normal lives.'' Damon has brought wounded GIs to Yankee Stadium and visited them at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, as well as spearheaded fundraising efforts. The charity, for those interested in learning more, can be found at www.woundedwarriorproject.org. The organization's motto is, "The greatest casualty is being forgotten.'' In a similar vein, two Sox players, Curt Schilling and Manny Ramirez, pledged donations tied to their performance to Strikeout for Troops, the organization started by Giants pitcher Barry Zito.
The night's other emotional charge came when Bobby Murcer, the former Yankee center-fielder and broadcaster who 13 months ago was diagnosed with brain cancer, received the writers' "Milton Richman You Gotta Have Heart Award.'' Murcer, despite undergoing both chemo and radiation treatments, returned to the broadcast booth by Opening Day last season, and embraced the man who presented him his award, new Yankee manager Joe Girardi.
Luis Tiant was hilarious in presenting C.C. Sabathia the American League Cy Young Award. "I don't know much about (the award) because I didn't get one,'' said Tiant, who noted that fact a few times. My friend Denny McLain stole it from me. He won 31. I won 21.''
That would have been in 1968, when Tiant led the AL with a 1.60 ERA while pitching for Cleveland but was trumped by McLain, a 31-game winner for the Tigers that season who won not only the Cy Young but the AL's MVP award that season. McLain, who later did time in prison for drug trafficking, gambling and embezzlement charges, was at the head table last night, too, as he, Tiant and Bob Gibson (a no-show) were given the writers' Willie, Mickey and Duke" award, which honors players who share a noteworthy connection. In this case, it was their performance in '68, which was known as the Year of the Pitcher, when Carl Yastrzemski was the only AL player to hit over .300, and he just made it at .301. After that season, they lowered the pitcher's mound by five inches to 10 inches, and narrowed the strike zone, swinging the advantage back to the hitters.
Tiant referred to Sabathia as the "Big Bull." That man is big, let me tell you,'' Tiant said. "He can get anything he wants. He asks me for something, I got to say OK. I hope you win more, man, because you're young and strong.''
McLain took out the needle for Tiant. "Luis, have you shrunk?'' said McLain, who easily tips the scales at 300-plus pounds. "You used to be 6-4 or something.'' He then turned on Rusty Staub, the former Met whose waistline has also expanded since his playing days. "You and I are going to a buffet together tomorrow,'' McLain said to Staub, "and they're going to give us 100 bucks apiece to go somewhere else.''
It was a great night for the two new Hall of Fame inductees, Goose Gossage and Dick Williams. Gossage called Williams the greatest manager he ever played for, and reminisced about how, in the '84 World Series when Williams was managing the Padres, the manager had signalled Gossage to issue an intentional walk to Kirk Gibson. Gossage kept shaking his head no until Williams hustled out to the mound and asked Gossage what he was doing. Goose assured him he'd had success in the past against Gibson and wanted to go after him. "No sooner does he get back to the dugout,'' Gossage says, "then I throw the ball and it ends up in the upper deck. Dick, I should have listened to you.'' Cracked Williams: "What Goose didn't say was that ball to the upper deck broke three seats, one behind the other.'' Williams also noted that the last time he'd been at the NY writers dinner was in 1968, the year after the Sox won the pennant, and though he sat at the head table, he wasn't introduced, an oversight about which the Sox raised a stink. "Thanks for giving me a chance (to speak) after 40 years,'' he said.
Alex Rodriguez presented the NL MVP award to Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies' shortstop who thanked his mom "for teaching me to talk trash.'' Rodriguez then received the AL MVP award from Yogi Berra, who like A-Rod was a three-time MVP winner. A-Rod, gracious in his remarks toward Rollins, received a pretty tepid response from the crowd after his own stilted acceptance speech, in which he told Berra he was jealous of the 10 world championships the Yanks won with Berra on the team.
Eric Wedge, on his 40th birthday, received the AL Manager award from baseball CEO Bob Dupuy, who also gave the NL Manager award to Bob Melvin. Melvin, in turn, presented Ryan Braun of the Brewers the NL's Rookie of the Year Award.
The most relaxed speaker of the night had to be Mets manager Willie Randolph, even though Randolph is on the hotseat after the Mets' shocking collapse last September, when they blew a 7-game lead with 17 to play.
"Luis, no stogie tonight?'' Randolph called to Tiant. He then turned to Gossage, his former teammate on the Yankees. "Goose, now you can stop whining (about not being in the Hall). You're in brother, you're in.'' To Rollins, who last spring famously proclaimed that the Phillies, not the defending champ Mets, were the team to beat in the NL East, Randolph said: "How you doing, Jimmy? Want to make some predictions tonight? You want to talk smack, go ahead, but you're on my turf.'' And to Biggio, to whom he presented the "You Could Look It Up Award," Randolph noted that Biggio had been hit by a pitch 285 times. "Get out of the way, bro,'' he said. "I know you're taking one for the team, but get out of the way.''
It was a relaxed night of celebration for baseball, a night in which the word "steroids" was not uttered once from the dais. The Sox were represented by VP of media relations John Blake and Susan Goodenow, who tomorrow starts her new job as the team's Vice President of Public Affairs, inheriting some of the responsibilities that once belonged to Dr. Charles Steinberg. Steinberg has gone to the Dodgers, and this weekend sent friends pictures of him posing on the Great Wall of China with Joe Torre, the new Dodgers' manager. The baseball writers took a rare night off; one of the ground rules of the dinner being that the media are denied access to the head table honorees.

Lions fund-raiser has Sox power
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January 27, 2008

Talk about hot stove league action.
more stories like this

* Cabinets That Fit
* Lefty Javier Lopez and Red Sox agree to $840,000, 1-year deal
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* Devens firm reflects Boston scene
*

For about the price of a couple of downtown martinis minus olives - $30 - there will be steaming portions of roast beef and chicken; pasta, vegetables, and potatoes; salad and rolls; and finger pastries.

Plus a roast of the Hyde Park Lions Club Sportsmen of the Year: Red Sox southpaw reliever Javier Lopez and utility infielder and all-around BoSox brainiac Alex Cora.

Like the neighborhood namesake of the sponsoring civic group and its relationship to the city - Hyde Park being the low-key home of Mayor Tom Menino and other local pols - the two honorees are not the biggest superstars on the block, but they did play a vital role in the World Series triumph last year.

Those two were chosen as emblems of professional athletes who donate their time to community causes, said Charles Menard, president of the Hyde Park Lions Club.

As such, they will offer free autographs and pictures with the World Series trophy (if you bring your own camera) and lots of baseball chatter to those who show up with tickets Feb. 1 around 6:15 p.m. for the Lions Club's 39th annual Sports Night, being held at Annunciation Hall, 7 VFW Parkway in West Roxbury.

Menard said the evening will help raise funds for a host of causes, from youth services to senior care.

Plates of food will be arranged family-style, with servers slinging more often than Lopez trying to get out a tough left-handed hitter.

"People eat until it's gone, or you don't want any more," said Menard. "That's our way of saying we're giving back to the public."

RIC KAHN
© Copyright 2008 Globe N

Report: Clemens' longevity due to adjustments, not steroids
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3218315

NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens' agent released an 18,000-word statistical report Monday to refute allegations that the pitcher's career rebounded around the time period he was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.

"Clemens' longevity was due to his ability to adjust his style of pitching as he got older, incorporating his very effective split-finger fastball to offset the decrease in the speed of his regular fastball caused by aging,'' said the report, created by Randy Hendricks and two associates at his firm.

Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, claimed in last month's Mitchell report on drugs in baseball that he injected the pitcher with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens vehemently denies the allegations, and Clemens and McNamee are among five witnesses scheduled to testify before a House committee on Feb. 13. Clemens also has sued McNamee for defamation.

Hendricks' report, which includes 38 charts, in some ways resembles a salary arbitration case. One of the charts shows Clemens' ERA was lower than the league average in all but two of his 23 major league seasons. The report also compares variations in Clemens' career with those of Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Nolan Ryan, and maintains slumps often can be correlated with injuries.

"Of the six years that feature Clemens' best ERA margins, two occurred in Boston, after he had been in the major leagues for several years; two occurred in his two years in Toronto; and two occurred after he switched leagues and pitched for the Houston Astros,'' the report said.

Clemens went 40-39 in his last four seasons with the Red Sox, and when the pitcher left Boston's general manager at the time, Dan Duquette, said Clemens was in the "twilight'' of his career. Clemens was 192-111 with the Red Sox and won three Cy Young Awards and an MVP, then went 162-73 with Toronto, the New York Yankees and Houston, winning four Cy Youngs.

"Clemens was far from being in the 'twilight of his career' or 'washed up' in 1996, as some have speculated,'' the report said. "During the 1996 season Clemens ranked first in strikeouts in the American League and tied his own record by striking out 20 batters in Detroit on Sept. 18, 1996. In addition, he ranked sixth in the AL in ERA, second in the AL in hits per nine innings, and fifth in innings pitched. This performance cannot be reasonably categorized as a 'twilight.'''

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Olney - Clemens trying to sway opinion


http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3218318&name=olney_buster

Roger Clemens asked Mike Wallace, in his interview with "60 Minutes," how do you prove a negative? Well, the agency representing him is trying to do just that.

Brian McNamee, his former trainer, told George Mitchell that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens says he has never used performance-enhancing drugs. They may be at a he-said, he-said impasse, without corroborative evidence.

This morning Randy Hendricks and two associates released a 44-page report on the newly built Web site RogerClemensreport.com that attempts to create traction, through the use of statistics, for the pitcher's assertion that he didn't use steroids.

As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no mention of performance-enhancing drugs within the report. But the numbers within the report -- an examination of won-loss records, ERA margins, strikeout ratios, ratios of innings and pitches per start -- are presented to cast doubt on speculation that Clemens had unusual spikes in his career that could be read as signs steroid use. The numbers are used in an effort to demonstrate that Clemens' statistical accomplishments, as he aged, fell well within the range of other elite aging pitchers through history, including Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan. There are many charts and graphs, as you will see for yourself. As you read, you get the feeling the baseline argument being whispered through the statistics is this: Roger has had an extraordinary career, but one not as extraordinary as you might have thought.

It is the kind of report you might generate for a salary arbitration hearing, except in this situation, his representatives aren't arguing for money; they're making an argument to bolster Clemens' vehement declarations that he did not use PEDs. Statistical analysis has gained enormous popularity within baseball, as a means to evaluate players. But Bill James could have never imagined, as he put together his Baseball Abstracts in the late '70s and early '80s, that statistics would be wielded in this extraordinary manner.

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Clemens is going to great lengths in his fight to clear his name -- and sometime next week, it's expected that he will be interviewed, under oath, in a prelude to the scheduled Feb. 13 hearing before the House oversight committee. At some point -- maybe in the congressional proceeding, maybe in his defamation suit -- you would expect that Clemens' lawyers will present this 44-page report on behalf of their client and say: Please show us the evidence that show a spike in performance, because to us, his career line looks an awful lot like the performance trend of other great pitchers.

As Clemens tries to convince the court of public opinion that he never used PEDs, he faces the same challenge as any of the presidential candidates. There is a chunk of baseball fans who will never believe him, and there are some who do believe him. His efforts to clear his name now are aimed at the undecideds, and this report is part of that effort. It will be interesting to see what the statistical analysts -- and congressmen and jurors -- make of these number

Report: Santana to be traded 'within 10 days'

BY KEN DAVIDOFF | ken.davidoff@newsday.com; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 28, 2008

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-a5555002jan28,0,4751952.story?track=rss


The Johan Santana trade discussions finally might be entering their final lap, and the Mets still appear to be the favorites to land the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported yesterday that a trade of Santana, a Minnesota Twin since 2000, "is expected to occur within 10 days." That matches a widely held industry belief that the Twins have every intention of moving Santana before the start of spring training.

The Yankees don't want to include Phil Hughes in a trade for Santana, as general manager Brian Cashman made clear Friday night at an event at William Paterson College in New Jersey. Boston always seemed more interested in keeping the price high for the Yankees than actually acquiring Santana for itself.

The Mets, meanwhile, have held off on signing free-agent pitchers Livan Hernandez or Kyle Lohse until the Twins decide on Santana.

The Mets are willing to give up multiple prospects for Santana, who wants a six-year, $150-million extension in return for waiving his no-trade clause. To date, however, the Mets have not relented on giving up minor-league outfielder Fernando Martinez in addition to outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Deolis Guerra, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey.

The Twins tried to get the Angels involved in the Santana discussions, the Pioneer Press reported, but the pitching-heavey Angels are more focused on trying to upgrade their offense.

Better the Metsies should be burdened with a useless arm with a long-term contract and a permanent stay on the D, while all their young prospects have long been sacrified and scattered to all locations around the major leagues, than the Yankees. Yanks have been there, done that. Never again. Does the name Carl Pavano right a bell? So go for it, Omar! When will GMs learn that long-term contracts for pitchers never pay off? LOL

Jan 28, 2008 11:53 am - Buzz: LENIII Still Ranks Mets as Favorites

...posted by Matthew Cerrone...

According to La Velle E. Neal III, in a post to his blog for the Pioneer Press, “It looks like the Twins want to get a Johan Santana trade done this week or begin preparing for his arrival at spring training.”

Additionally, it is unlikely that a third team will be needed to make a trade, explains Neal, and the Twins will not part with an extra player to push a deal along.

Ultimately, Neal writes…

“I still rank the Mets as the favorite with the Yankees second but the Twins have every right to demand that Fernando Martinez be included in the deal…The Mets are trying to get one of the best pitchers in baseball for prospects. Excuse me while I put on my Allen Iverson hat. Prospects? Prospects? We’re talking about prospects, man. Not proven major league talent, prospects.”

…by the way, the New York Post, ESPN 1050, and others, all of whom are reporting that a deal for santana is ‘imminent,’ they are just referencing the report from the Pioneer Press on sunday…in fact, they each cite the actual report, which is why i am not posting every single article…i mean, they’re all based on the same report, which i referenced over the weekend…

…you know, i’m gonna miss good ol’ La Velle E. Neal III when this whole santana saga is over…it’s funny how every off-season i end up obsessing over some other team’s player, typically from oakland, and during that time i truly come to enjoy the work of these non-new york writers who i don’t get the opportunity to read as often as i should…