I don’t see the NY media harassing Andy Pettitte or making hay out of the situation to sell newspapers.  Reporters have decided he’s a “stand up guy” and that’s that.  Moreover, people are far more interested in A-Rod’s foibles.

Probably.  Although there does seem to be a fascination with “this” happening to someone they’ve decided (probably rightly) is such a stand-up guy.

First spring training game today, albeit an exhibition match.  Does anyone know of any place on the web following it?  I mean - IT’S A GAME!!!

Pete Abraham is live-blogging the event.

IE, thanks!

Igawa loaded the bases with two walks and a HBP.
Then he gave up a home run.

Igawa will be traded to an NL club sometime during the season.  He simply has no place on this team given its depth of pitching.  I’m a fan of Cashman, but that $26 million posting fee looks rather bad at this point.

I don’t mean to be a knee-jerk Cashman apologist, but does anyone besides me imagine that the Igawa signing was Cashman’s giving in to Steinbrenner pressure?  It was so clearly a response to Dice-K heading to Boston, which just has the stink of Steinbrenner’s arms race one-upsmanship mentality all over it.  Yes, Cash was supposed to be in complete control by then, but come on . . .  If the boss was pissed-off about Dice-K and started thundering (and according to that Torre interview of a couple weeks ago, the Boss still thunders), Cash probably figured this was one situation in which to give in, in order to have more control over future decisions.  It just seems easier to me to believe that Steinbrener went on a rampage, and Cash decided to pick his battles, rather than think Cash looked at all the scouting reports and thought, sure, this is a guy to pay #3 starter money.

He simply has no place on this team given its depth of pitching.

This is an excellent point. I mean, what’s the future hold for Igawa if he puts it together? The back of the rotation for 2009? Why not get a useful part for him from some NL team that could use him as an innings eater.  You can’t even put him in the bullpen - he’s awful vs. lefties and he walks way too many guys for any of us to mantain our sanity if was pitching in the 7th inning with runners on.

The trick here is to deal him to a team in a time of weakness. When a starting pitcher goes down in spring training, Cashman should make a move.

wasn’t there a deal in place to send igawa to the pads? I personally am a big fan of hank and his antics. These most recent comments are great.

I don’t buy the idea that George pressured Cashman into bidding for and signing Igawa.  I believe Cashman felt the team was short on pitching and there was no way to know at what rate guys like Hughes, Joba, IPK etc. would develop.  Moreover, he may have thought that Igawa would basically pitch as well as Ted Lilly only with a higher K rate and more durability.

Ef Pettite, I just read the D News story on Murcer from this morning.
Gdammitt I feel like he’s a member of my fam.
His hokey Okie demeanor is the real deal.
Nice guy. Genuine.
Back in 73 he was signing some autographs for myself and a herd of other lads and he was so nice.
I explained to him that Munson was my favorite player and he said ” why not me?”
I said you aint a catcher and you bat lefty.
He replyed ” Thurm cant play centerfield but he is a better catcher than me and a better pitcher, infielder and running back.
I smiled and said I’ve never seen Thurman play the infield. Or football.
He said ” I seen me play infield and my wife is better and so is your little sister”
Not a big ego guy.
Murcer in 73 was a big deal. One of the best players in the game.
Not a praying guy but I sure wish him well.

Hey sg a little off topic but do you have numbers on the yanks in one run games last season. I never remember being more nervous in any other season in those situations

For the love of Torrez someone post.
I didn’t mean to crash the site.
I just meant to say, out of all these athletes that we adore some of them actually deserve our love and respect.

Yankees were 18-21 in one-run games last season.

For sake of comparison, their record recently:

2006: 24-22
2005: 27-16
2004: 24-16
2003: 22-14
2002: 21-21

Last year was the first (and of course, only) season under Torre their record was under .500 in one-run games

Hey Old Thurm—

Who were your favorite Yankees from 93-present?  Your answer may not consist solely of “Don Mattingly.”

That is not easy.
Key.
Paulie.
Mo.
El Duque.
Mo.
Rivera.
Mr. the Hutt.
I like guys with balls.
Loved Justice for the Halle Berry stuff.
Cone.
Jorge.
Thats the top 10 and Mo is 3 of them. Go figure.
I liked Winnie better than Donnie. No explanation.
Sam Miletello, and Rock Raines.

Sammy is a goof I meant Kevin Brown.

I’ll go—in no especial order—

Cone
Key
O’Neill
Bernie
Graeme Lloyd
Straw
Glenallen Hill (brief, I know, but…)
Mike Aldrete (who remembers HIM?)
Jorge
Fielder
Duque
Wells
Stanton
Nelson
Joba
Giambi
Spencer

Of the current Yankee veterans, my favorites are Jorge and Mariano.  I especially like Jorge’s fire and willingness to publicly call out the team when it’s scuffling or playing sloppily (which is ironic because Jorge is master of the passed ball).

Fgas….... I don’t see Mo or Weaver there.
Arryuuannaleeeinn?

Nicely put IE. Irony is always a cynics delight.

This seems like late summer 07. All we need is EElz and the Frog.

Jeff Weaver?????  TOTAL OVERSIGHT!!!11!!

I like Mariano, admire him a lot for many reasons, but I can’t call him a favorite.  My favorites are pretty idiosyncratic, obviously.

May become favorites:

A-Rod
Melky
Hughes
Kennedy
Wang

The trick here is to deal him to a team in a time of weakness. When a starting pitcher goes down in spring training, Cashman should make a move.

They may have to attempt to rehabilitate Igawa’s value at AAA in order to maximize the return.

I love to watch Cano play 2B.  He’s really smooth out there, especially on double plays.

How could I forget wee Robby?
Wille,Shirley and Mark Salas were a few more.

post-‘93 faves:

Key
Jeter
Homer Bush (!)
Duque
Chili Davis (best Yankee name til Joba & the Attorney General?)
Knobby (always liked the way he worked pitchers)
Moose (the persnickety one)
Ledee (reminded me of kids I knew growing up for some reason; plus hit K. Brown in ‘98 series)
Lloyd
Sojo (cld never tell where the chin ended and the neck began - love that in a baseball player)
Straw (hated him when I was a kid; loved the terror he represented on the bench)
Mo
Bernie
Hitchcock (pre-Tino trade)
Wang

Oh, and honorable mention to Ruben Rivera - for the catch he made in a game in ‘96 when the Yanks were on the brink of having the wheels fall off, and for swiping things out of Jeter’s locker a few years later. That beats Irabu’s body magnets, for me.

I like Bernie too, not only because he was a great hitter but also for being the epitome of class.

I didn’t really start following the Yankees until a couple of years ago. I was always a fan, but I don’t have TV at home and I didn’t get into listening to them on the radio until the end of high school. However, I was raised a Yankee fan.

So my favorite players were Jeter and Bernie. Now that I’m more into baseball and such I have to go with Cano, and of course I have to give props to Melky, if only for that catch against Manny.

Also Jorge, because my father always seemed to be able to call his HRs just before he hit them. And Ruben Sierra because, it seemed to me back then, whenever I was listening he would come in off the bench and pick up a huge hit.

And for fear of jinxing him, I have a connection to Phil Hughes as he was the first prospect I started following when I really got into baseball after my senior year of high school.

A few strange things.
First of all, Tino’s on no one’s list thus far.  How did THAT happen?
Also, curious that Lloyd’s on almost every list - because of the fight?

Mattingly
Tino
Paulie
Bernie
Mariano
Wells
Spencer
Girardi
and, of course, The King!  Greatest World Series moment ever.  Literally unbelievable (the only other thing that apparently actually took place that I believe less - in fact, that didn’t, that couldn’t possibly have happened, was the last inning of the 2001 season.  Didn’t happen that way.  Interference in the timeline.  I’m not kidding.)

Tino was a nice guy, but I went a to a LOT of games in 2001, and it seemed like he bounced into a double play in every damn one of them.  I was way ready for Giambi.  Somehow Tino’s decline made me like him less in a way that Bernie’s decline did not.

Wombat Pete—you’re right.  The Yankees won the 2001 Series.

Here a question: does Igawa even crack the Scranton rotation?  After all, the Yanks could easily slot in Horne, Marquez, White, McCutchen and Chase Wright.  I would also have to believe Rasner and Karstens are higher on the depth chart.  Does that mean he toils in Trenton?

I always liked Tino as a player, although he was an offensive liability for two seasons.  But my affection for him has, sadly, been diminished by the way his name gets invoked by the true-Yankee-clutch-player-we-were-better-off-with-him-than-we-are-with-this-bum crowd.  I say sadly because I shouldn’t let that bleating affect the way I think. 

That May of, what was it ‘05? ‘06? when we all celebrated Turn Back the Clock Week and Tino hit 19 HR in 4 games was awesome, though.

IE, maybe they’ll put Mr. Cool in the Scranton BP, knowing he could probably go back to starting at any point.

The Scranton BP is going to be crowded too, given that almost all the relief prospects in camp, i.e., Bruney, Albaladejo, Ohlendorf, Veras, Britton etc. have options.

Really interesting article on Melky, Gardner and Jackson by Pete Abraham:

http://tinyurl.com/2kbdcd

Highlights:

“Melky has to fight for what he has,” Cashman said. “I can’t stand here and tell you he’s going to be our center fielder moving forward. That’s up to him.”

and

“We [think Gardner] could be a Juan Pierre who takes a walk”

and

“My biggest concern is getting on base [said Gardner]. As long as I get on base, 37, 38, 39 percent of the time, I don’t care if I hit any home runs.”

and

“Jackson followed that up by hitting .271 in the Hawaiian Winter League.” (!)

Wang had 4 grounders, a pop-up, a strikeout, and a double in two innings while Shelley duncan slammed a 3 run homer and had a double in his two at bats.  I can’t wait for games that count.

I read that article, although Pete Abraham needs to pay closer attention to details because he mentioned Melky’s “strong right arm” even though the guy is a lefty.  In any case, if Gardner does manage an OBP of .370 he would indeed be very useful, but that’s a long way from happening.  Part of me believes Cashman is pumping him up as possible trade bait.  After all, if Austin Jackson rakes in Trenton this year, the only thing keeping him out of CF will be a .290/.360/.450 type season from Melky.

“Wombat Pete—you’re right.  The Yankees won the 2001 Series.”

That’s what I’m saying!  You saw it too, fgasparini?

A-Rod just hit a HR.

“Part of me believes Cashman is pumping him up as possible trade bait.  After all, if Austin Jackson rakes in Trenton this year, the only thing keeping him out of CF will be a .290/.360/.450 type season from Melky.”

Not sure I follow, IE, why trade Gardner?  He’s probably ML ready and is insurance.  Also, if Jackson is as good as they say, and Melky DOES take the step forward we’re all hoping for, Melky’s bat and arm play in right for 2009.

Albaladejo has visibly good movement.

And now Montero has hit a HR.  I realize spring stats are meaningless, but this kid is 18 years old.

As for possibly trading Gardner, the Yanks are probably thinking Tabata will be a better RF option.  After all, if Melky doesn’t develop more than 15 HR type power, the Yanks will want their other two outfielders to have more pop.  Both Austin Jackson and José Tabata will offer that - at least to a much greater extent than Gardner.  Also, Jackson, while not quite the burner that Gardner is, has good speed and can steal bases.  On the other hand, fgas, Gardner certainly adds depth this year while Jackson and Tabata refine their games.

Hammerin’ Hank is at it again:

“Red Sox Nation?” What a bunch of [expletive] that is,” he said in an interview with The New York Times’ Play magazine. “That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.

“Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”

That is Awesome. thanks fgas

would you trade cano for reyes straight up?

“Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”

Wow.  Hank for President!

Let’s also not forget that by 2010, it won’t just be CF up for grabs but all three OF positions (some combination of Matsui, Damon and Abreu will no longer be on the team, or relegated mostly to DH duty).  Just imagine Melky, Austin Jackson, and Jose Tabata in the outfield, with Brett Gardner coming off the bench as a 4th OF and speed guy… I think I just creamed in my pants.

Joe Posnanski had a great bit on his blog the other day about how weird it is that Pettitte has gone from getting a lot of crap to suddenly getting a lot of good responses from the media:

I’m hoping that Andy Pettitte’s coronation as Our Greatest American will be the final steroid story, at least for a while.

Sure, I’m as baffled as anyone how Pettitte managed to turn an HGH admission and, oh yeah, another HGH admission, and a semi-sort-of-squishy-kind-of charge against Roger Clemens into a place on the “Most Trustworthy People Ever” board of directors. I’ll tell you this though: If it’s this easy, then I think Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and many others made big, big, big mistakes. I don’t care if they used steroids or not. They should have just SAID they did, just a little bit, said they were sorry, invoked God and maybe turned in a little circumstantial evidence on an old friend. Apparently this is the way to get into the hearts of people. I think Andy Pettitte has a better chance of getting into the Hall of Fame NOW than he did before he admitted using HGH (and then, after a newspaper story came out, admitted it some more).

Oh, and Nate, while I, too, am looking forward to the Yankees outfield of the future, I think the chance so Melky, Jackson and Tabata all being in the same outfield is pretty much nil.

Odds are it’ll be Melky OR Jackson, not both.

If Melky can manage an .850 OPS his bat would play all right in a corner.  Whether he makes that leap in the next year or two remains to be seen.

By the way, Hawkins looks good and Farnsworth, well, looks like Farnsworth.

No one live blogging the game?

It’s on WABC radio if you are so inclined.

I agree that Cashman was responsible to Igawa. If he can have influence with the Steinbrenner family one year (No Santana)then I have to believe he had just as much pull with them exactly one year earlier. There’s a tendency for some to explain away any bad judgement that Cashman may be responsible for. All GM’s make some good deals but also some misjudgements. Cashman seems to at least make more good ones. I also think there’s another reason to believe this way.  Cashman has a hard time accepting the facts when he has blown one.  His reluctance to part with Pavano early on while he may have had a remnant of trade value seems to be consistent with his continuing talk that Igawa needs more time to show himself. I agree with the poster that he will be gone by mid season and if the GM is smart before ST ends.

Got to like Hank’s remarks about so called Red Sox nation. I’m seeing more Boston hats of late, because current success always brings out the bandwagon types,but in my lifetime of over 50 years, there is no comparison.  I remember going to Denver in 2002 to see the Yanks first series there and you would have thought Coors was the Yankees home park. So unbelievable that the news columnists stories the next day were embittered and complaining.  Now the Mountain region fans to do that is living proof that the Yankees are a national team. We even have the logo to prove it.

I was on a trip this fall back east and we took a three hour tour of Boston. Made me sick that it was the day after the Yanks were eliminated and I saw all those Sox banners waving high in Quincy Market. Thankfully the next day after that I got to go to Cooperstown and it brought me back to reason seeing all those Yankees enshrined.

joeln,

I think a lot of the time we believe players have value that they do not.  We have no idea - none - what type of value Pavano has EVER had as a trade-chip.  In hindsight, if someone two years ago had offered the Yankees a D+ prospect if the Yankees also picked up 3/4’s of Pavano’s remaining contract, it would have been a good deal.  But would that have made sense two years ago?  Doubt it.  It would have made MORE sense to let Pavano pitch himself back into being worth-while.  Of course that didn’t happen, but…

Same for Igawa.  What value is there out there?  Sure, San Diego claimed him off of waivers, but then apparently didn’t offer much.  Remember, the Yankees can’t recoup any of the posting fee.  So is a D+ minor-leaguer worth it?  If Igawa can become an OK lefty in the bullpen, it isn’t.  Let’s wait and see.  It’s silly to evaluate Igawa after one season, and one inning in ST.