Fellow Yankee fans: Who will be on first next season?

DeutscherGeist

As a long time Yankee fan, I have always like Mattingly at first. This year he was the hitting coach while his statistical clone, John Olerud, played first. The Yanks got him real cheap and it was to fill a very big hole at first base while Giambi was out the rest of the season. Some Yankees had him as a teammate on other teams while others respected him as a player. He was a good non-controversial fit in the Yankee clubhouse. A quiet, yet reliable presence. He had the best glove work in a long time at first base for NY.

I really would like to see him start at first next season, but the Yankees already spent so much money on Giambi. Yes, Giambi should play DH, since he was never really cut out to be a defensive first baseman. However, the DH will be for Bernie Williams while the Yankees pursue Beltre from the Dodgers. Ruben Sierra could be back, but with Williams at DH, that does not leave room for Sierra or Olerud to be full time players.

I like Williams and the Yankees must keep him. He is a fixture on the team, so some accomodation must be made. The Red Sox had only 2 players that were home grown and one player was actually a Boston native. And people call Yankees a bunch of mercenaries? The Yanks have Rivera, Jeter, Williams, and Posada as the core home grown talent on the team. There are probably more and still more that are native New Yorkers, such as Torre himself.

Scavenger

Who's on first.

1420sports

However, the DH will be for Bernie Williams while the Yankees pursue Beltre from the Dodgers

Don't you mean Beltran? Giambi is OVER, as the roids caught up with him.

Arod cursed the Yankees - unlucky #13 - with his punkness.

DeutscherGeist

I stand corrected: Beltran....yes, that's who I meant

I never said Giambi is the right choice to stick with, but the Yankees spent so much money on him that I think they feel obligated to use him. I really do think the guy is a wasted worn out athlete. He aged too fast. Was it roids? We won't know. Maybe the Yanks are clinging to something for a kind of nostalgia reason. I think they should keep Olerud as a full time first baseman.

DirtyHarry

Just my opinion, but I don't see anything wrong with keeping both Giambi and Olerud. It provides depth at first and DH. I think they will move Sierra or release him. Bernie will stay - he can DH and play all outfield positions. So between the 3, it provides a lot of flexibility at DH, first and the outfield. Olerud has also played some third base, if needed in a pinch.

DeutscherGeist

DirtyHarry,

I like your logic. It is not out of the question to keep Williams, Olerud and Giambi together. Yes, that does provide for flexibility for the team. The thing I have an objection to is the following: these are some good players that should be playing full time. Olerud is such a great fielder, his hitting skills above average, and generally healthy everyday, so he is a full time player. Giambi is going to play DH because he is not what he used to be and his defensive skills were always questionable, especially now more than ever. Giambi himself does not really give the Yankees much flexibility. He will hog the DH spot. Williams would need the DH spot on occasion and like you said can still play any outfield position. Sierra is valuable since he can DH and play outfield and has already been with the Yankees a considerable time. He is good to have around.
I guess my main concern is playing time for Olerud and Williams.

The outfield will have fixtures such as Sheffield and Beltran, so one spot can be used for a platoon of Williams and Sierra and do DH occasionally. Lofton is no longer a full time player so they can keep or let him go, no matter. Giambi will hog the DH. Olerud can play full time at first. Williams won't be able to play DH that much if Giambi is around. Maybe someone will get injured or need extended rest, but its a pity for a healthy player to miss playing time just because the line up is crowded.

Olerud can easily find another team. Giambi will have no one. There is no market for a DH player. Most teams use the DH to give their starters some rest or have their aging star player around for a few more years. The DH is not a position that needs to be filled via free agency.

DirtyHarry

That's why Sierra's gotta go. No room for him. Williams, Giambi and Olerud all get in the lineup about 130 games with bat or glove. They are not spring chickens. All subject to injury as full time players. I'm more concerned about what happens if Posada goes down.

mercurynut

The Yanks still have Travis Lee under contract.

Gemmy10

<<The Yanks still have Travis Lee under contract.>>

Not true.

DeutscherGeist

Travis Lee is gone. The Yankees went through a lot of first baseman this past season: Giambi, Lee, Clark, and Olerud.

If the Yanks keep Olerud and Giambi, will they keep Tony Clark. He was not bad in defense either.

Have they let Kenny Lofton go officially?

If Sheffield and a hypothetical Beltran cover the outfield, who plays the third position if Williams goes to DH for a couple days? Will this mean that Giambi has to sit out for those games? The outfield hole has to be covered by someone if Williams takes a break. That's why Sierra or Lofton might be needed for those days.

This is Yankee musical chairs.

Posada might need a break from catching and I don't even know if they have someone as a back up.

One thing seems sure for the Yanks, they don't really need to bring in any big name position players anymore. They have a good nucleus. The Beltran issue is something I am not knowledgeable about too much. I guess its plausible that there needs to be an outfielder with a good glove out there since Williams is aging and Sheffield is no spring chicken but still can go for a couple more years until concerns arise. The Yankees do need to revamp their pitching. If there is no one from the farm system, then I guess they do need to sign a Johnson or Wells or both. The way the pitching staff was this past year, I don't think they can do worse by trusting some of their farm hands for a change. No need to spend the big bucks this offseason. They should also bring back Mattingly as hitting coach or bench coach next to Torre if Randolph leaves.

DirtyHarry

Sierra and Clark should go. They should keep Lofton - he still has good outfield skills and is ideal for platooning or as a bench outfielder. If Arod goes down - Olerud can play third. If Jeter goes down, Arod can move to short and Olerud to third. Don't forget Bernie hits from both sides of the plate, so Giambi is not a lock to hog the DH. It can all work out and provide options.

This aside, the pitching staff is sucking gas. They will not win with the current staff. I think they should keep Mussina, Lieber, Vasquez, El Duque and Rivera. If they can move the rest - they need two premier starters and a quality setup man. I think they should move El Duque to the pen - he still has stuff, is flexible and would be more valuable there.

If they can package Gordon, Sierra, Clark or any of the bullpen staff one way or another...they need to get a quality backup catcher for Posada so he can get some rest or DH. The guy is solid, but I think they need some security to protect the position.

Ramble ended. Of course, easy for me to say.

DeutscherGeist

I guess you really are sold as much as I about keeping Olerud. I really like the guy, so I am biased, but he really is a good fit for the Yankees.

It is not hard to conceive that one or two position starters will need some time off as a precaution or a minor injury. Looking at what happened last year with Williams, Giambi, and Lee, perhaps Olerud will get all the playing time he deserves one way or another.

So, you think Lofton over Sierra for platoon outfielder? I can see the logic in that. Because injury is going to be a factor, maybe having Sierra around with Lofton is not a bad idea if they are both OK with the fact that Giambi and Williams will be the primary DH. If Sierra wants to come back and understands that there are a lot of players on the team taking away playing time, then I say keep Sierra. The Yankees stocked up real good this past season, but there was a lot of injuries, so I think there is room for Sierra as an insurance.

I agree, that there must be a back up catcher.

I thought Tom Gordon did a good job, but I won't argue that to death.
El Duque in the pen is not bad at all.
Brown will stay primarily because he has a huge contract that no one will absorb. Can the Yankees really buy him out? I think his contract will make him stay. I know why some fans are upset. I don't think he will pull the same emotional stunt again. It was solely that incident that messed things up. Was he a clubhouse menace? I don't know about that. I was never in the club house, but I think he is a competitor and likes to be successfull. He will be ready opening day and win a string of victories and then the fans can forgive him. He did apologize about the incident. Its not like he was a jerk about it. At least I did not see evidence for it. I would be the first to say "get rid of this player" but I think Brown is like a David Cone.

DeutscherGeist

Tino is available. The Yanks have too many options at 1B. There seems to be no shortage of them.

I liked what the Braves did by just using the spot for platooning. They save money that way by not going after some overpriced defensive liability. Franco is doing a wonderful job there platooning with that other guy.

Cubfan

What the Yankees really need is Sammy Sosa in right field. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease

DeutscherGeist

I think Giambi will surely be gone. Now the Yankees have a good excuse to get rid of a player. Contract violation! Also, Giambi is done physically anyway. He can't play anymore.

Giambi did this to himself, so its not like I want to be mean about it. This does clear up a few things though. The Yankees save money by canceling the contract. That is good. They also rid themselves of an obligation to keep a player.

First base belongs to Olerud. Tony Clark remains at back up.

The DH and an outfield position will be used by Sierra, Williams and Lofton.

There will be enough playing time for all. If Yankees do not sign Beltran, then those players will get even more playing time. Actually, they can sign Tino Martinez then, since he wanted to come back as well.

With the extra money the Yankees have, they can add Al Leiter, David Wells, or Randy Johnson.

I still say they should bring a young pitcher or two up for some starts and bull pen experience.

They should keep Mussina and Brown. Lieber is OK to keep. Vazquez is their young arm, so I think they had long term plans with him. That about does it.

DirtyHarry

Olerud and Clark certainly are a bit more secure now. Looks like I was wrong about Lofton - or maybe right because he was trade bait someone wanted. If you haven't seen it yet - Lofton and cash have gone to the Phillies in exchange for setup reliever Felix Rodriguez.

They also re-acquired reliever Mike Stanton and cash from the Mets for Felix Heredia.

With these guys on board - does Gordon go next? Or maybe they keep him....and their bullpen looks pretty with El Duque on long relief, along with Rodriguez, Stanton, Gordon and Rivera. May be the hedge against no premier starter being added to the staff. Regards.

DeutscherGeist

Ok, I guess I am not the only one thinking that Olerud's position is more secure now.

Lofton was kind of expendable anyway. They still have Sierra afterall.

I think Gordon is safe unless the Yankees can get a staff ace. They did shore up their bull pen and that is a good hedge against possibly not getting more formidable starters.

I am also thinking Brown's spot is getting more secure. Am I missing something, or do Yankee fans really want to get rid of him? I think as more time goes by, it will be to the better for Brown.

The Yankees have not done anything blockbuster yet, and perhaps they may not need to.

DeutscherGeist

Tampa Bay offered Tino Martinez a one year contract of an undisclosed amount. They do not want to offer arbitration. It would be too much money since he did have a productive season.

He wants to see what is going on with the Yankees and Giambi. He would like to be a Yankee again.



The Yankees have a Tuesday deadline to offer Olerud arbitration. That must be right now. He has made a lot of good contacts in New York. The team likes him, so do the fans.

I hope the Yankees don't consider something drastic like buy Richie Sexson or worn out Carlos Delgado. They need to save money on first base since they already have a lot to choose from.

BugOnTheRug

<< <i>Fellow Yankee fans: Who will be on first next season? >>


Answer: Barry Bonds

DeutscherGeist

Bad News, The Yankees did not offer arbitration to John Olerud. He has to go elsewhere now. I am really sad about that.

Tony Clark is gone too!!!

Sierra will be back with the Yankees!!!!! That was smart since this guy has been good for that team.

Jared Wright is a Yankee. Good choice since they needed a starter.

Yanks got Womack. I thought Cairo did a fine job, but the front office probably knew better on this one.

Yankees still want to sign John Lieber. I think they should, because he has proven he knows how to pitch for NY.

The Yankees could still use Bernie Williams at first every now and then. But now they have no real first baseman. They may very well sign Tino Martinez, which I think many would be happy about. That is fine with me, but I really really liked John Olerud.

No word yet on Kevin Brown. I think their rotation would now include: Mussina, Brown, Wright, Vaszquez and maybe Lieber if they resign him in time. However, I think the Yankees might still want to sign another ace starter, so maybe Brown's days are numbered. I want Brown to stay, but seeing how Olerud was not resigned, I have little hope now.