Goodbye

I’ve told everyone about this except my readers.

As of tomorrow I will be leaving The Pinstriper for good.

I have accepted an offer from Ed Valentine of Pinstripe Alley to write for their great blog.

I will not be able to keep up with both blogs, so I am shutting down The Pinstriper for good.

The Pinstriper will still be a website, but will NOT have ANY posting.

Thank you for reading my blog and hopefully you will read my posts at the new blog, Pinstripe Alley!

P.S. I will not ever shut down the best Yankee of the Decade poll so keep voting!

Mark DeRosa to the Bronx?

I just plain don’t get this one.

DeRosa, 35 when the season starts, played with the Cardinals and Indians this past season. He hit .250/.319/.433 with 23 HR and 78 RBI.

DeRosa is asking for a three-year deal worth about $18 Million.

The Yankees won’t sign Johnny Damon to a two year deal worth $20 Million and are looking at DeRosa to be a possible replacement. Wait….didn’t the Yankees just sign Nick Johnson as their DH? Would they trade Melky Cabrera? Trade Gardner? Both? Bench one trade the other?

I just don’t understand why the Yankees would waste $6 Million a year on a 35 year old corner outfielder. By the time his contract is up Colin Curtis, Brett Gardner, and maybe even Jamie Hoffmann will be knocking on the starting OF door.

The Yankees will have Granderson locked in center and MAYBE an opening in right. Do they move DeRosa to the infield? No, the infield is booked.

Why even consider DeRosa? The Yankees need pitching and until they get that, why even look at other free agents?

Right now here is the Yankees lineup and rotation:

1. Jeter SS
2. Johnson DH
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Granderson CF
6. Posada C
7. Cano 2B
8. Swisher RF
9. Cabrera CF

SP-Sabathia
SP-Burnett
SP-Pettite
SP-Hughes
SP-Chamberlain

Does anyone else see a problem with the rotation and no problem with the line-up or am I going crazy?

Best Yankee of the Decade: Semi-Finals Edition

Andy Pettite won the last matchup over Roger Clemens 20-5.

So here it is! The finals!

Instead of doing a one on one matchup here is how it will work.

In the poll, you have the four finalists.

Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte.

Pick TWO of the players to be in the finals. Voting ends Sunday night at 9:00 PM. At that point we will have a week of voting for the Finals and then we will have a winner!

Yankees to sign Nick Johnson

The Yankees are nearing an agreement on a 1-year deal worth approximately $5 Million with free agent 1B/DH Nick Johnson.

Johnson was coveted by the Yankees, Giants, and Mariners.

Johnson was a former Yankee that was traded away along with Randy Choate and Juan Rivera for Javier Vazquez back in 2003. The Yankees drafted Johnson in 1996.

Johnson, whose .426 OBP this year leads all free agents, was wanted by the Yankees mainly for the great On Base Percentage, the fact that he hits well against lefties, and the fact that he is a lefty-hitter himself. With Matsui gone and Damon probably leaving, this was the Yankees big chance to sign a lefty-hitter.

INSTANT ANALYSIS: Since it is a one-year deal, I like it. Even if Johnson is injury-prone, he still puts up good numbers when he plays. This move allows the Yankees to stick the Melky/Gardner combo in left.

Better Yankee of the Decade: #1 Andy Pettite or #2 Roger Clemens?

Jorge Posada defeated Paul O’Neill 14-4 in the last matchup.

Song of the Day: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Better Yankee of the Decade: Jorge Posada or Paul O’Neill?

Mariano Rivera defeated Tino Martinez 25-0 in the last matchup.

Song of the Day: Hell’s Bells by AC/DC

Trades and Signings from Across the League

Courtesy of Midwest Sports

Lots and lots of news today.

-BIG trade today. The Phillies acquire Roy Halladay, the Mariners acquire Cliff Lee, and the Blue Jays acquire a boatload of prospects. Updates as they come.

INSTANT ANALYSIS: I don’t really think the Phillies are winners in the trade. Sure, Halladay is better than Lee but not by a landslide and the trade is essentially Cliff Lee and a few top prospects for Roy Halladay AND a 3 year $60M contract.

-Red Sox sign John Lackey to a 5 year $85 Million contract.

INSTANT ANALYSIS: I really am not just saying this because I am a Yankees fan, but I dislike this move in an enormous way for the Red Sox. 5 years for an injury-prone pitcher? More than Burnett? Sure, Lackey is a clutch pitcher but he should not be getting paid that much.

-Angels sign Hideki Matsui to a 1-Year deal.

INSTANT ANALYSIS: This came as a surprise to me. He is essentially the new Vlad Guerrero for the Angels. I like the move but it all depends on the amount he is getting paid. He will be missed in New York.

HOW ALL THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE YANKEES:

-Roy Halladay is out of the AL East!

-The Yankees have to deal with Lackey in the AL East, however, and also the fact that they do not have much leverage on free agent pitchers.

-The Yankees have much less leverage on Johnny Damon. Hideki Matsui was basically the second-option for the Yankees. He is now gone.

UPDATE: 6:50 PM: Do you know the answer to this? (Hint: do not look in comments or you will find the correct answer, 99% sure)

UPDATE: 9:55 PM: Hideki Matsui signed for a 1 year $6.5M deal. Mike Cameron signed with the Boston Red Sox.

Wang Becomes Free Agent

The Chien-Ming Wang era in New York has finally ended (*mixed boos and cheers*). The Yankees decided on not tendering Wangs contract before the 11:59pm deadline Saturday. New York opted to tender contracts to outfielder Melky Cabrera and pitchers Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre. The decision basically came down to starters/trade bait. Cabrera is the current left fielder (and trade bait), and Gaudin and Mitre are current candidates for the back of the rotation. Had the Yankees tendered his contract, arbitration would have given him 20% less than his $5 mil. contract for this season.

photo by AP/Franklin II

In 104 career starts as a Yankee, he went 55-26 with a 4.16 ERA in 5 seasons as a Yankee. Of course, his two 19-win seasons were considered his best, and his accuracy was pin-point. He started 2008 8-2 and everyone remembers that one June day in 2008 in Houston when he tore a muscle in his foot and sprained his ankle rounding third base causing him to be out until September. Then this past season came, and he got knocked around and had a record of 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA before he was shut down for the season due to shoulder surgery.
Wang and his agent expect to get offers from other teams very soon, and if it would be from the Yanks it would be for much less money.

Better Yankee of the Decade: #1 Mariano Rivera vs. #2 Tino Martinez

Derek Jeter defeated Alex Rodriguez 13-1 in the last matchup.

Song of the Day: In The End by Linkin Park

Better Player of the Decade for the Yankees: #1 Derek Jeter or #3 Alex Rodriguez?

Mariano Rivera defeated Alfonso Soriano 18-1 in the last matchup.

Question for my blog readers: Which site do you think looks better? This or This? I am in the process of considering a new blog outline/template.

Song of the Day: Eminence Front by The Who

Due to technical difficulties all sidebar options of the blog are at the bottom of the page.