2 months with a team BA over .250... 2... that is pathetic... 6 months below that mark... but yeah, pitching was the problem...
Truth is BOTH pitching and offense are issues heading into next year. I am really interested to see what this organization does to "put a championship caliber team on the field" while staying under budget, with no farm to speak of. Should be fun to watch. I did just read the rumor mill about Beltran interested in signing with the Yankees. Hey whats another 38 year old. At least he hits when it counts. Oh and for the McCann fans....consider the source here, but if this figure is anywhere near correct i sure hope its not from the yankees: "Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York was told by one MLB general manager that Brian McCann could receive a deal for six years and $100 million this winter"
If that # is legit he can kiss ass & the Yankees should look to Salty. And if need be perhaps AJ for one season until Romine or Sanchez is ready.
That figure does seem high. I was thinking more in the 4 year 50-60 range, but good catchers are hard to come by. I do think McCann is overrated at this point in his career though.
...McCann is defensively about league average at throwing out base stealers, above average at blocking balls in the dirt, and also has value defensively for this talent of framing pitches. Offensively, his numbers speak for themselves...and being LHed, he should be good for nearly 30 bombs a year considering the RF porch at YS. ...he'll be extended a qualifying offer from the Braves, which he'll turn down, and will garner a contract of 4-5 years in the $12-$15 Mil per year range.
From someone that watched a lot of Brendan Ryan over the last few years, giving him 80-100 ABs a month is NOT going to help your team average out. Now he's magic in the field (and I don't feel qualified to say how poor Jeter is, but Ryan's literally the best glove in the business), and if you bat him in the 9-hole and are ok with him hitting .190, then he's a good, cheap-ish signing. But if you're expecting any power at all, over anything over a .550 OPS, good luck with that.
...I know a lot of people have brought up Drew as a replacement, but overall, I think I'd rather go after Lowrie. Jed's career numbers are essentially the same as Drew's but Lowrie does not strike out as often and will likely not cost nearly as much considering that Boston will try to retain Drew and keep him away from the Yanx, and because Boras is his agent. Lowrie, on the other hand, is arbi-eligible and Oakland may consider dealing him. ...Lowrie is also a switch hitter.
Good call on Lowrie. Though he & Drew are pretty equal as hitters Lowrie as you mentioned is a switch hitter & although he is primarily a ss he has played all infield positions & wouldn't be a bad choice to replace A-Rod if he's suspended for the entire 2014 season. In his 1st full season this past year he hit 15/75/290 with an OBP of .344 More importantly as you pointed out he would come with a lot cheaper price tag then Drew. Drew earned 9.5M this past season compared to Lowrie who only made 2.4M.
If he is arbi-eligible, he can't be counted on... if he isn't offered arbi and becomes a FA, he is a great option, but until that happens, he isn't really an option...
...whether or not he is arbi-eligible doesn't mean he can't still be traded, and that's why I said Oakland may be willing to "deal him". ...Cashman can at least pick up the phone and ask...and you can't get anything unless you ask for it.
OK, Offensively, Lowrie has only hit over .280 in 2 seasons but does walk a lot (OBP only under .300 1 season) and isn't a threat to steal Defensively, Lowrie in his 1st season in which he was an every day player committed 18 errors... 16 at short in 119 games and 2 at 2B in 24 games... 2011 he played 49 games at SS and had 10 errors (5 errors at 3B in 33 games too) Drew has been an everyday player in 5 of his seasons Offensively, Drew has has 2 seasons where he's hit over .280, also walks a fair amount (OBP never under .300) and isn't a threat to steal either... Defensively, Drew has never once had 18 errors in a season... the most came in his sophomore season in which he had 17 in 147 games... We would obviously prefer a healthy Jeter.... Jeter (who isn't the greatest defensive SS in the game) only had 18 or more 4 times in his 19 seasons... 1996 with 22 (in 157 games), 1997 with 18 (in 159 games), 2000 with 24 (in 148 games), and 2007 with 18 (in 155 games) If Jeter isn't fully capable to play, I'd rather have the one less likely to be committing errors...
...I used CAREER stats....and I used them for a reason...offensively, they are very close. ...and first you said Lowrie would be a "great option", but now he's not?...I don't get it.
...regarding Jeter, the ONLY reason he may be at SS next year is because his name is is Derek Sanderson Jeter and he will be in his option year, an extra year that he should not have been given in the first place. Defensively, he's one of the worst SSs in Baseball. In his last full year he had the worst DWAR of any full time SS in the game. And I don't think he can be counted on to play 130 - 140- 150 games next year and I doubt he sniffs a .300 BA and I doubt he will have much power next year either. ...I love the guy, but he has no range, and many of the balls that other SSs are charged with errors, Jeter wouldn't even be able to get to, so he doesn't even get a chance to make the same errors. Like I said, if DJ wasn't still under contract I don't think the Yanx would bring him back again, at least not as an every day player or a SS ...I'd much rather have either Drew or Lowry going into next year than crossing my fingers with either Jeter or Ryan.
...why, because he batted .291 way back in 2008 but has been essentially a .250 hitter since then? ...I understand that you like Drew and I do too but I don't agree with the hand picked stats you used to show why. I originally used career stats but you decided to break it down further by pointing to how many times both players had batted ".280" or better...but Drew has not batted .280 in the last 5 years. And what a player did 5 years ago is not a good barometer of the player as he is today...see Jeter, ARod. Tex, CC, et al.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/drewst01.shtml http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lowrije01.shtml 2013 salaries = Lowrie 2.4M, Drew 9.5M
