...this hack never ceases to amaze me with his inane ideas. According to him the Yanx should look to acquire Josh f'n Willingham from the Twins as a "power bat". ...lemme see, he's only played 57 games so far, not healthy, batting .219...has 10 HRs (Gardner has more)...and OPS of .782 (Gardner's is higher)...and strikes out once every 2.9 ABs. (even Gardner does't K that often) ...thanx Wallace, now you and Andrew Marchand can go back to humping each other's leg and pimping each other's mindless articles.
I think the Yankees passed on him a couple years ago when he had some credentials and wound up in Minnesota. Another 35+ year old outfielder with his best years on the wrong side of the fence. If the Yankees can't do any better than Willingham I'd soon see Almonte given a chance and platooned with Ichiro.
...the thing about platooning Ichiro is that oddly enough, he actually hits LHed pitching better than RHed pitching. ...his career splits are .330 vs LHers and .312 vs RHers.
...I personally like Rios over Byrd because though Rios does not have as much power, he's a better fielder, hit's for a better average, doesn't strike out as often, and can still steal bases.
Those would be my reasons also for wanting Rios. He's also I believe 3 years younger. BUT....as I mentioned in the other thread the Yankees need immediate offense & Rios has not supplied that at all this year 4 HRs. So again I think the'll sign Byrd.
Guys like Willingham would just be a roll of the dice in the hopes you can catch lightening in a bottle for a couple of months. Unfortunately, there's no miracle guys out there or mega stars that teams are just going to give up for little or nothing.
