Plan B?
According to Jon Heyman, Cliff Lee has two offers for seven years at more than $20 million but the teams remain a mystery. Since the Yankees are reportedly not going to seven years, there seems to be a decent chance they won't get their man. For the sake of argument, let's assume that Lee signs elsewhere. What are the Yankees options for 2011?
1- Stick with what they have. This would be the most interesting move and the chances of it happening probably depend on Andy Pettitte. If Pettitte comes back, the Yankees could open with almost the same rotation they had last year, swapping Ivan Nova in for Vazquez. Considering how poorly Vazquez pitched, you could make the argument that Nova might actually be an upgrade. Now if Pettitte doesn't come back, the Yankees would have two rotation holes to fill. I swore I would never say this again, but in this case, wouldn't it make sense to consider Joba for the rotation?
2- Sign a different free agent starter. The HUGE problem with this scenario is which one do you want? After Lee, Carl Pavano is probably the best starter left and we know that won't happen. The Yankees could take a run at someone like a Justin Duchscherer and keep their fingers crossed that he stays healthy. A bet like that again probably rests on Andy Pettitte's decision as Nova would then presumably be ready in the minors for when the injury bug bit. Short of that, is anyone up for the return of Chien-Ming Wang?
3- Try the trade market. Now Zack Greinke is clearly on the block, but you know that the price is going to be Montero. Further more, Greinke had a pretty severe social anxiety disorder and while he is by all accounts healthy, there is a big difference between New York and Kansas City. I'm just not sure the risk would be worth the price of Montero.
The pitcher who would be worth that price is Felix Hernandez. That's the guy I would target if I were the Yankees. I wonder if Seattle would have any interest if the Yankees offered a package with Montero and Betances in it?
4- Screw the pitching, bash their way to a pennant. It's all about run differential and the Yankees scored 859 runs in 2010. Add Carl Crawford to the mix and that could go up. Now Crawford is probably going to cost a ridiculous amount as well, but it's an option.
What do you think?
Comments
I think that we might have enough young arms (killer Bs) that we could take the cooked pasta approach: throw as many of them at the wall as possible and see what (who) sticks - and focus on scoring 900+ runs.
And, oh yeah, keep some salary in reserve to see who shakes loose in July as a salary dump.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 7, 2010 08:19 PM
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joba!
Posted by: blmeanie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 7, 2010 08:23 PM
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I think they can get Pettite back on the theory that it will be the last stand of the Core Four. So, the rotation would be: Sabathia; Pettite; Hughes; Burnett; Nova. If someone can screw Burnett's head on straight, that's not a bad rotation.
No way does Seattle give up King Felix. Greinke would be Son-of-Burnett.
No, I would stockpile projects (Bedard, Duchscherer, Wang) and hope one of them works out to replace one of the starters when they drop out of the rotation as ineffective or injured.
Crawford only makes sense if Posada is not the DH. If you can get Posada to catch 80 games, then the DH spot frees up for Swisher and you could have an outfield of Crawford-Granderson-Gardner.
Posted by: Corey | December 8, 2010 09:49 AM |
One more idea about hitters -- what about Konerko? That guy can flat out hit, and he's one of the great clutch players in the game.
He'd have to DH and spell Texeira at first base. This would mean that Posada would have to catch. But you're paying him the big bucks to do that.
How's this for a batting order:
Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Texeira 1B
A Rod 3B
Cano 2B
Konerko DH
Swisher RF
Posada C
Granderson CF
Posted by: Corey | December 8, 2010 10:14 AM |
Option 2 - Not a practical option. Who are they going to sign? Pavano? Uh, no. Duchscherer? Nah. Wang? Nah.
Option 3 - Not a practical option. Greinke? If they trade for him, they're going to give their fans a lot of anxiety. Hernandez? Why in the world would Seattle trade a young, CY Young-winning best-in-breed pitcher for a young hitter whose best position is . . . DH? Take off your Yankees' fan cap and put on your Mariners' GM cap. Can you honestly say you'd trade Hernandez for Montero and Betances? I wouldn't.
Option 4 - Even if they bash their way to the playoffs, can they advance without the pitching? Crawford? Not a need for the Yankees. Why lock themselves into yet another overly long, unmovable contract. What, if they don't spend the money on Lee it's going to burn a hole in their pockets?
Option 1 - I think the Yankees need to give Joba a two years to find out if he has what it takes to be a successful starter. They could save tens of millions of dollars every year if they started developing MLB-caliber young pitchers. How many of those have they done in the past 15 years?
Unmentioned corollary to Option 1: Accept that there is no God-given right to win the World Series every year. It has the appeal of being radically realistic. But will the Yankees embrace it? Nah . . .
Posted by: Greg | December 8, 2010 12:24 PM |