04/20/24
November 30, 2003
George Grabs Gary.: Sheffield to the Yanks for what, at first glance, seems like an extravagant amount of money in these "market correction" times.
posted by jerseygirl to baseball at 03:24 PM - 32 comments
The yankees are waiting to see what Andy gets offered and then they'll top whatever the amount is. Plus the Yankees are going to trade for Vasquez, or sign Colon, or get both, King George will not allow the Sox to get the last laugh. Sheffield is a very nice addition to the Yankee lineup, he has a great on base percentage, and hits in the clutch, Giambi will walk a lot less with Sheff in the lineup too.
posted by jbou at 04:35 PM on November 30, 2003
I'm kind of interested in the Pettitte deal, whatever way it ends up. He said he wants to go to Texas for his family's sake, but I guess the all mighty dollar will determine if his family's worth it.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:03 PM on November 30, 2003
No way Pettite winds up in Boston, as amusing as the idea is. (Martinez, Pettite, Schilling, Lowe, and Wakefield? Fold up the tents.) But he'll either be in Houston or New York.
posted by Bryant at 06:42 PM on November 30, 2003
Yankees sign Gordon and Quantrill and Heredia (again). I thought Quantrill was one of those players that needed to pitch every day to be totally effective... and from my understanding, Torre isn't like that. I love off season baseball. This is good news for Yankees fans and possibly great news for Boston fans, I hope this is a sign we're getting Foulke.
posted by jerseygirl at 11:02 PM on November 30, 2003
Andy is staying in new york, all the bullshit about going home to Texas is just that bullshit, it's all part of the game agents play to drive up a player's worth, the astros cannot afford Pettite. I also love watching all the red sox's fans get all giddy over getting these players, it's going to make watching their reactions when the Sox blow it again, even more enjoyable.
posted by jbou at 12:09 AM on December 01, 2003
I also love watching all the red sox's fans get all giddy over getting these players, it's going to make watching their reactions when the Sox blow it again, even more enjoyable. You can't have a conversation about sports without putting people down. Your attitude sucks.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:41 AM on December 01, 2003
You can't have a conversation about sports without putting people down. Your attitude sucks. What? I enjoy watching red sox fans suffer, is that a crime? It isn't like i'm kicking kittens or puppies, I like watching a group of obessive compulsive fans go up and down like a merry go round, jersey you should step off the merry go round for a minute and watch, it is quite amusing.
posted by jbou at 12:59 AM on December 01, 2003
You know what's almost as much fun as watching Red Sox fans twist and turn? Watching Yankee fans taunt other fans, and realize that the Yankees have bit the dust in the playoffs for 3 straight years and are getting older and worse every year. Blind arrogance is just so funny...
posted by grum@work at 07:17 AM on December 01, 2003
And enjoy that Steinbrenner implosion sometime in...hmmm...June? when the Yankees are behind the Red Sox AND Blue Jays in the standings.
posted by grum@work at 07:19 AM on December 01, 2003
i'm a yankee dommsayer in general but i can't help but feel like the yanks are going in the wrong direction. sheff's a good player but he'll be another headache for torre in the press room. sheff always has an odd opinion (read: opinons at odds with the press) and in nyc that just doesn't mix. he'll say some weird thing this year to set off another yankee backpage drama extravaganza, just the kind of thig torre loathes. the lineup does look potent on paper, but it did last year too. adding another huge bat to the mix doesn't address the speed, defense and general balanced lineup issues that were exposed as flaws in the playoffs. and let's not even start with the pitching. as of this moment the only starters the yanks have are mussina, contreras and weaver. i'm sure they will retain pettite (which is a *must*). but i'm skeptical of either colon or vasquez. especially colon.....i just don't see success for him in nyc. and what's this i hear about adding kenny lofton? they can't be serious. i don't know.....it just seems like the yanks should have stuck to their gut instinct after the series to ship soriano and johnson out of town.....the lineup needs to be re-configured and stripped down to a leaner machine. and adding sheff just adds to the bloated old cranky machine already in place. i doom dance on the yanks because my mets haven't done anything yet (a good thing, methinks) but i can't help but think the yanks are being goated into matching the sox for hot stove headlines.....not a good place to be.....many chances to make expensive mistakes.
posted by oliver_crunk at 09:25 AM on December 01, 2003
Oliver - good comment. I'm not sold on Contreras yet as a starter, so I don't feel he's an intimidating Yankee-esque starter... at the moment. He'll definitely be something to watch as the season starts. Weaver won't be on the opening day roster. Mussina is, as it stands, the ace and obviously, quite terrific. There's so much work to be done as far as pitching goes. Objectively (because I don't want the Red Sox stuck with him either. And glad we dodged that bullet afterall and didnt trade Fossum for Colon last year) I don't think Colon is where the Yankees want to go. The guy is dominating, yes. He's also 5'11-6'0 and 240 pounds and that's the "polite" public weigh-in. There's also information that he was 185 the season before? (I don't know if that's entirely right, but he put on 55 pounds in one year?! Twinkies anyone?) I'I don't see him re-making his physique in the offseason, and his ERA went up a bit in 03. I see an expensive problem brewing there that the Yankees probably don't want to saddle themselves with.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:30 AM on December 01, 2003
You can't have a conversation about sports without putting people down. Your attitude sucks. Don't feed the trolls jerseygirl. It isn't worth it.
posted by justgary at 12:02 PM on December 01, 2003
You Sox and Yank fans are so spoiled - look at the All-Star lineups your teams construct out of sheer cash - and the names that appear in the rumors are the best of their kind. Colon is a proven performer and an innings eater - any team would be lucky to have him, but I agree that he really isn't a number 1 guy - on Boston he'd be a three, on the Yankees a two at best, barring Pettite not getting signed. Truly the rest of the league is getting closer and closer to being nothing but a farm-team/proving ground for these eventual buyers. Though that Yankees BoSox series was a great one. So in closing, kiss my ass NY and Beantown. Nice to see the Bruins doing well, though.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:30 PM on December 01, 2003
Weedy, some day a Toronto team will win something but not any day soon. Sorry.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:41 PM on December 01, 2003
The BoSox are the evil empire it's okay to like.
posted by rocketman at 01:45 PM on December 01, 2003
I think rocketman hits the nail on the head- the Sox are OK to like now, but if they keep spending like this, once they actually win a series they'll be just as loathed as the Yanks, and probably with quite a bit of justice.
posted by tieguy at 09:33 PM on December 01, 2003
So as long as the Red Sox keep losing, everyone is cool with the team.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:09 PM on December 01, 2003
should be a question mark at the end of that, not a period.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:33 PM on December 01, 2003
I think you had it right the first time, JG.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:56 PM on December 01, 2003
They signed Sheffield and also signed Boone I'd say they balance each other out.
posted by justgary at 10:57 PM on December 01, 2003
once they actually win a series they'll be just as loathed as the Yanks I'll trade a world series for the loathing of those outside red sox nation anyday.
posted by justgary at 10:59 PM on December 01, 2003
They re-signed Boone and Wilson today, surprisingly enough. This isn't really playing out how I expected.
posted by jerseygirl at 11:23 PM on December 01, 2003
jerseygirl: what, you expected George to withdraw inside his shell and let Sr. Henry and his statheads romp all over them? :) They'll fight, and fight hard. Only difference being that this time they might lose. [And yes, if the Sox ever do seriously become top dog, they'll become the temporary poster children for everything that is wrong in this greedy, stupid, non-salary capped sport. I say temporary only because The George will always trump, or attempt to trump, at which point Sox Nation will be safe. ;)
posted by tieguy at 12:08 AM on December 02, 2003
They'll fight, and fight hard. If resigning boone is fighting hard I say keep fighting ;)
posted by justgary at 12:37 AM on December 02, 2003
No, I expected Steinbrenner to make different moves, not re-sign the offense he has last year (with exception to Sheffield). I really didn't think Boone would be back. Besides his game 7 HR, the general impression i was getting from the Yankee fan board was they weren't delighted with Boones regular season production. Now that he's signed him, he can't trade him until June, so I imagine Boone is the 3rd baseman they are going with in 04... or at least until the trade deadline. and I disagree about the poster children thing, totally. I think when/if the Red Sox win, it will be more focused on the fact that they won after X amount of years etc. I don't think they'll ever be fully equated with unmitigated cash/spending like the Yankees have been.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:55 AM on December 02, 2003
I hope the Yanks and the Sox continue to bring in all the big name free agents, spending billions of dollars, and teams like the Angels and the Marlins continue winning the world series. Next up is Pittsburg.
posted by corpse at 07:07 AM on December 02, 2003
Next up is Pittsburgh Okay, someone's been hitting the bottle a bit early this morning...
posted by grum@work at 07:22 AM on December 02, 2003
posted by yerfatma at 08:48 AM on December 02, 2003
I agree with all that Oliver said, especially about Colon, but except for getting rid of Johnson. I'm OK with Soriano for another year but I think Johnson is a must-keep. For his D at 1st and his OPS, which was quite good last year till the end, and will only rise with Donny B... I think he'll be the most impacted by Mattingly. I can't help but think of Sheff as the next Danny Tartabull... dropping from .330 with power to .250 with the threat of power but no actual power. He'll lose a lot of HRs in that deep alley in left center. But, I was shocked at his actual OPS and low K rate, I haven't watched him that often and hadn't realized just how good - and consistent - his numbers are. I like the Boone signing. We need more character guys, and I'll sacrifice a bit of average. his WS defense was a fluke, he is usually very sure handed and impressive over there at third. It seems like he was having trouble with the easy plays and still making the tough ones. I'm not convinced that these bullpen moves are improvements. Different doesn't mean better. And I think some of the guys let go weren't given a fair chance. Hammond, for instance. And I don't turst Gordon's health either, especially for those dollars.
posted by Bernreuther at 10:42 AM on December 02, 2003
damn it, that's going to end up being another forum to waste time at. Seems like the more rational intelligent yankee fans hang out there with a minimum of idiots. I'm never going to get promoted with all these distractions!
posted by Bernreuther at 11:10 AM on December 02, 2003
Bernreuther, promotions are for people who can't handle the Web. And jobs are for people who can't handle the internet.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:26 AM on December 02, 2003
hmm. my bad. i thought it was 2yr/36m. regardless, this kind of adds a new dimension to the Yanks. I've been reading their fan board, and I saw this coming. They really need pitching though. I read today in the Boston Globe (last paragraph) that the best offers Pettitte has received are from Boston and Houston. That was interesting.