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willowz · 06-20-2006, 03:48 AM

The off-season:

Boy. This was fun.

Okay, so, who was the mystery figure to get sent packing and give us a little more breathing room? The answer is Jaret Wright who's ridiculous 7 million dollar deal still has me scratching my head. And who do we get in return? Pretty much nobody. Absent of absolutely any catcher, we pick one up in Todd Greene who should serve as the backup this year. Hopefully we can pick somebody else in free agency.

Free Agency

A few things I'm learning about salary cap baseball: Teams with more expenditure space are spending a hell of a lot more on the big guns than I possibly can, and the high quality talent that seems to bleed into free agency is not as open. It didn't help that Barry Zito refused to even negotiate with me, and Roy Oswalt was the hottest commodity, but after one negotiaton session already became too rich for my blood. I talked with Ted Lilly for a while as well, but he eventually decided to go with Tampa Bay of all teams.

Eventually, I helped fulfill my lack of pitching by signing Jason Marquis, for 6.5 Million over 3 years.

Jason Marquis went 18-6 last year with a 3.80 ERA, and throughout his career has shown a tendency toward incosistency: a year up, a year down, two years up, two years down. But we most certainly need Jason to be good in 2007 in order for this not to be a long season. He will be our opening day starter.

Looking into the catcher position, I found there was really nobody. AJ Pierzynski wanted way to much cash. I talked with Jason Phillips for a while, but he eventually went elsewhere. The best I could do was a cheap deal to Einar Diaz; 1 year, 600 grand. Hopefully he can platoon it with Todd Greene for a not-so awful season hitting most of the time at 8th.

Another hole I needed to fill was in the outfield, because Gary Sheffield was a 38-year-old free agent.

I talked with Alfonso Soriano and Darin Erstad, but both eventually decided to go to different clubs. After the Marquis deal, I found myself a little short on cash also, and so the best option I could find is a declining Moises Alou.

Moises Alou had decent numbers in 2006, probably the benefit of hitting along side Barry Bonds, but he seemed to have slown a bit in the off-season. Hopefully he can suck it up for one more season, and he wasn't that expensive at 500,000 for a year. If not, there is always Melky Cabrera, ever present apparently in Columbus.

A big place of assistance was relief. Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera are all still around and should be okay, but we lost Dotel to free agency and the rest of our bullpen is hardly worth even talking about.

Relief was the weakest of the free agent fields, and the big option I had was JC Romero, but he didn't want anything to do with the Bronx, and I'm not sure we really want anything to do with him. I eventually settled on underhand slinger Chad Bradford at a reasonable rate, but a 3 year deal, so he better be good. Roberto Hernandez is sitting in OOTP at only one star, but he had a fantastic 2006, so we signed him for cheap, and we'll see what he can do.

Down on the farm, I also reeled in two decent prospects: 1B Kendry Morales will start the year in Columbus, and Jonathon Hunton is a middle reliever that will start in Triple A also.

Some big signings around the rest of the league:

LF Cliff Floyd off a huge year signed with the Angels.
C AJ Pierzynski was bought by Cincinnati.
RF Trot Nixon and SS Alex Gonzalez head to Colorado.
RF Shannon Stewart goes to Atlanta.
SP Kerry Wood is now with division rival Baltimore.
Old friend 3B Aaron Boone is back in Cincinnati.
SP Bruce Chen with an impressive 2006, goes to Florida.
C Jorge Posada is now an Angel.
RF Gary Sheffield is now in St. Louis.
SP Roy Oswalt was wowed to, of all places, Milwaukee.
SP Barry Zito will call Washington home.
LF/2B Alfonso Soriano is now an Astro.

============================================

So without further ado:

2007 New York Yankees Opening Day Roster:

SP - Jason Marquis
SP - Chieng Mien Wang
SP - Greg Maddux
SP - Carl Pavano
SP - Mike Mussina

Bullpen

MR - Chad Bradford
MR - Roberto Hernandez
MR - Mike Myers
SU - Kyle Farnsworth
SU - Scott Proctor
CL - Mariano Rivera

Line-Up (Universal)

CF - Johnny Damon
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Derek Jeter
3B - Alex Rodriguez
LF - Hideki Matsui
RF - Moises Alou
1B - Eric Duncan
C - Einar Diaz
DH - Terrence Long

Bench

C - Todd Greene
1B - Carlos Pena
IF - Eduardo Alfonso
OF - Bubba Crosby
IF - Andy Phillips

========================================

So Matt, what do you think?

Well, I've certainly made this hard for myself. Especially with the stipulation that I've got to at least make the playoffs this year. Free Agency was difficult, the hot players were expensive because the market wasn't deep, and I somehow managed to make my team older in my first year.

On the bright side, we have some guys in the farm system finally growing up: Tyler Clippard and Philip Hughes should be ready for some sort of action next year, especially Clippard. Moises Alou and Greg Maddux are probably going to cost me via terrible decline, but maybe they can stick it out for at least a little while.

Eric Duncan replacing Giambi at first should be interesting, he's 22, so we'll see how he pans out. If worse comes to worst, we can always part ways with Robinson Cano, though I really don't want to, especially if Alou sucks it up finally.

How are our minors looking? Meh.

Columbus is a barren desert of nothing. That new guy, Kendry Morales and Melky Cabrera are the only two hitters of note.

Tyler Clippard, Christian Jackson, and Jeff Marquez are all going to start the year in Double A to pitch, and could all be beneficial, perhaps with some September call-ups. J. Brent Cox is also hanging around down there, as well as 1B Chris Parmelee.

In Single-A, Philip Hughes is the big name, but will probably see promotion this season. There are a few hitters down there also, outfielders, Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata.

Up next is the first series of the year. We get to start things out with a bang. We're playing the Red Sox.

06-20-2006, 03:48 AM	#9
willowz Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 38	The off-season: Boy. This was fun. Okay, so, who was the mystery figure to get sent packing and give us a little more breathing room? The answer is Jaret Wright who's ridiculous 7 million dollar deal still has me scratching my head. And who do we get in return? Pretty much nobody. Absent of absolutely any catcher, we pick one up in Todd Greene who should serve as the backup this year. Hopefully we can pick somebody else in free agency. Free Agency A few things I'm learning about salary cap baseball: Teams with more expenditure space are spending a hell of a lot more on the big guns than I possibly can, and the high quality talent that seems to bleed into free agency is not as open. It didn't help that Barry Zito refused to even negotiate with me, and Roy Oswalt was the hottest commodity, but after one negotiaton session already became too rich for my blood. I talked with Ted Lilly for a while as well, but he eventually decided to go with Tampa Bay of all teams. Eventually, I helped fulfill my lack of pitching by signing Jason Marquis, for 6.5 Million over 3 years. Jason Marquis went 18-6 last year with a 3.80 ERA, and throughout his career has shown a tendency toward incosistency: a year up, a year down, two years up, two years down. But we most certainly need Jason to be good in 2007 in order for this not to be a long season. He will be our opening day starter. Looking into the catcher position, I found there was really nobody. AJ Pierzynski wanted way to much cash. I talked with Jason Phillips for a while, but he eventually went elsewhere. The best I could do was a cheap deal to Einar Diaz; 1 year, 600 grand. Hopefully he can platoon it with Todd Greene for a not-so awful season hitting most of the time at 8th. Another hole I needed to fill was in the outfield, because Gary Sheffield was a 38-year-old free agent. I talked with Alfonso Soriano and Darin Erstad, but both eventually decided to go to different clubs. After the Marquis deal, I found myself a little short on cash also, and so the best option I could find is a declining Moises Alou. Moises Alou had decent numbers in 2006, probably the benefit of hitting along side Barry Bonds, but he seemed to have slown a bit in the off-season. Hopefully he can suck it up for one more season, and he wasn't that expensive at 500,000 for a year. If not, there is always Melky Cabrera, ever present apparently in Columbus. A big place of assistance was relief. Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera are all still around and should be okay, but we lost Dotel to free agency and the rest of our bullpen is hardly worth even talking about. Relief was the weakest of the free agent fields, and the big option I had was JC Romero, but he didn't want anything to do with the Bronx, and I'm not sure we really want anything to do with him. I eventually settled on underhand slinger Chad Bradford at a reasonable rate, but a 3 year deal, so he better be good. Roberto Hernandez is sitting in OOTP at only one star, but he had a fantastic 2006, so we signed him for cheap, and we'll see what he can do. Down on the farm, I also reeled in two decent prospects: 1B Kendry Morales will start the year in Columbus, and Jonathon Hunton is a middle reliever that will start in Triple A also. Some big signings around the rest of the league: LF Cliff Floyd off a huge year signed with the Angels. C AJ Pierzynski was bought by Cincinnati. RF Trot Nixon and SS Alex Gonzalez head to Colorado. RF Shannon Stewart goes to Atlanta. SP Kerry Wood is now with division rival Baltimore. Old friend 3B Aaron Boone is back in Cincinnati. SP Bruce Chen with an impressive 2006, goes to Florida. C Jorge Posada is now an Angel. RF Gary Sheffield is now in St. Louis. SP Roy Oswalt was wowed to, of all places, Milwaukee. SP Barry Zito will call Washington home. LF/2B Alfonso Soriano is now an Astro. ============================================ So without further ado: 2007 New York Yankees Opening Day Roster: SP - Jason Marquis SP - Chieng Mien Wang SP - Greg Maddux SP - Carl Pavano SP - Mike Mussina Bullpen MR - Chad Bradford MR - Roberto Hernandez MR - Mike Myers SU - Kyle Farnsworth SU - Scott Proctor CL - Mariano Rivera Line-Up (Universal) CF - Johnny Damon 2B - Robinson Cano SS - Derek Jeter 3B - Alex Rodriguez LF - Hideki Matsui RF - Moises Alou 1B - Eric Duncan C - Einar Diaz DH - Terrence Long Bench C - Todd Greene 1B - Carlos Pena IF - Eduardo Alfonso OF - Bubba Crosby IF - Andy Phillips ======================================== So Matt, what do you think? Well, I've certainly made this hard for myself. Especially with the stipulation that I've got to at least make the playoffs this year. Free Agency was difficult, the hot players were expensive because the market wasn't deep, and I somehow managed to make my team older in my first year. On the bright side, we have some guys in the farm system finally growing up: Tyler Clippard and Philip Hughes should be ready for some sort of action next year, especially Clippard. Moises Alou and Greg Maddux are probably going to cost me via terrible decline, but maybe they can stick it out for at least a little while. Eric Duncan replacing Giambi at first should be interesting, he's 22, so we'll see how he pans out. If worse comes to worst, we can always part ways with Robinson Cano, though I really don't want to, especially if Alou sucks it up finally. How are our minors looking? Meh. Columbus is a barren desert of nothing. That new guy, Kendry Morales and Melky Cabrera are the only two hitters of note. Tyler Clippard, Christian Jackson, and Jeff Marquez are all going to start the year in Double A to pitch, and could all be beneficial, perhaps with some September call-ups. J. Brent Cox is also hanging around down there, as well as 1B Chris Parmelee. In Single-A, Philip Hughes is the big name, but will probably see promotion this season. There are a few hitters down there also, outfielders, Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata. Up next is the first series of the year. We get to start things out with a bang. We're playing the Red Sox. Last edited by willowz; 06-20-2006 at 03:52 AM.