Yankees Want To Trade Johnson?

ctsoxfan · December 25, 2006 9:33AM

What is going on? First, the Yanks trade Sheffield for young pitching. Now, they want to trade Randy Johnson? If it wasn't for the re-signing of the washed-up Pettitte, you would think someone in the Yankee front office has found some common sense all of a sudden.

yankeeno7 · December 25, 2006 10:20AM

After all the Yankees haters scream and laugh about how they feel Johnson is washed up, why would this be such a surprise? So they Yanks arent happy with his performance in NY thus far. Is he washed up? Can he not take the NY pressure? Is Johnson unhappy?

Do any of these questions really matter? Cashman has always said that no player is beyond consideration. Yanks really need strong middle relief. Maybe they feel their starting pitching is strong...or stronger than most. You can pick on any pitcher you want but the fact remains that it's still decent.

Yankees have created some good options for themselves. So, why not consider Johnson in a trade?

And might I add...Why am I not surprised to see this thread?...waaaa waaaa waaaaaa

Barndog · December 26, 2006 8:50AM

I'd be glad if they traded him. Didn't he own the Red Sox last year?

bri2327 · December 26, 2006 9:36AM

Jer,

Though we often disagree, and I find many of your anti-yankee posts to be quite humorous if not downright ludicrous, you have touched on something indeed.

I dont know who or where its coming from but the Yankees are definately looking like they are trying to right the mistakes of the past several years.

Its great to see the change in direction and thought process. The last thing they need is to fall into the same trap that brought them down for the better part of the 80's and early 90's.

At this point I dont think the yanks should be too picky over what they can get for Johnson. He is washed up and also appears to be a cancer on the team. His moodiness can only hurt the team chemistry.

Id be glad to see the Yankees get just about anything in return for him. Just getting him out of town would be enough for me.

Writer11 · December 26, 2006 10:49AM

Actually, the word is that Johnson has requested a trade. His brother recently died and he wants to be closer to his family on the West Coast.

Jersey · December 26, 2006 10:58AM

The way I see it, it's addition by subtraction. A good move on the Yankees' part, I'm sorry to say.

bri2327 · December 26, 2006 12:14PM

<< Actually, the word is that Johnson has requested a trade. His brother recently died and he wants to be closer to his family on the West Coast. >>

We all know it isnt so he can be closer to his daughter which he wants nothing to do with.

He is a deadbeat who cant leave town fast enough.

ctsoxfan · December 26, 2006 1:32PM

It's apparently the luxury tax that is finally catching up with the Yanks. It rises to 40% this season, and the Yanks are the only team (again) to have to pay it.
So, it looks like they are trying to dump Johnson and Pavano. Though, the latest is that the Yanks want too much for Johnson from Arizona, and they are not biting as of yet. And, who in the world would take Pavano?

yankeeno7 · December 26, 2006 3:22PM

Actually, MLB.com and the Yankees website has reported in the last couple of months that multiple teams have inquired about Carl Pavano and the Yankees have been uninterested in moving him.

I highly doubt the Yankees are concerned with the luxury tax unless you have read that...do you have a reliable source that states such case? I would be interested in reading that if there is.

I did read on MLB.com that if Yankees were able to move Johnson (and he approved the trade because of his no trade clause), that Yankees would probably be in the bidding for Barry Zito....exactly the reason I HIGHLY doubt they are concerned with luxury tax. Or, which was only lightly mentioned...if they move Johnson it could also open up the slot for Roger Clemens if he decides to come back. Yanks really would only need him for one season with the strong arms in the minors ready for the majors next year.

What they Yankees are doing is going after strong, young arms. They are stocking up. They are looking at the future and what the mediocre arms are commanding for salary.

I think it's good that Cashman is working on cleaning up the mistakes. I dont think Pettite is a mistake at all. Lefty who knows how to pitch in Yankee Stadium and proven success. Though, maybe not as effective the last couple of seasons, certainly nothing I would consider a flop...especially being a Houston Astro. That team has been unable to score runs the last couple of seasons.

Reportedly, the D'backs are not the only team interested in Johnson. Padres and Giants are also in the hunt for him. I think Johnson would jump at the chance to join a National League team again. He would probably again dominate. AL lineups are just too much for him at this point of his career.

If Johnson gets traded, I just hope they can also land some good middle relief.

yankeeno7 · December 26, 2006 3:33PM

And just read....Dodgers and Angels also interested. I dont see the Yanks dealing him to the Angels though. Dodgers maybe. If the trade happens, I think Johnson would want an NL team.

This appears to be a west coast theme...as Writer said, he wants to be there to be closer to his family.

softparade · December 26, 2006 4:02PM

See ya Randy! Keep getting younger Cashman! Keep it up man! Keep it UP

Barndog · December 26, 2006 9:40PM

<< It's apparently the luxury tax that is finally catching up with the Yanks. It rises to 40% this season, and the Yanks are the only team (again) to have to pay it.
So, it looks like they are trying to dump Johnson and Pavano. Though, the latest is that the Yanks want too much for Johnson from Arizona, and they are not biting as of yet. And, who in the world would take Pavano? >>

Red Sox paid it last year too...just two teams. Sox share was less than a million.

53BKid · December 26, 2006 10:13PM

Randy + NY Media = Pressure too hot to handle

Bye, bye!

Ilovebaseballcards · December 27, 2006 12:44AM

D'backs want RJ back.

and here is Johnson's response to being Traded by the Yanks!

ctsoxfan · December 27, 2006 1:21AM

Barndog, right you are. The Sox pay such a relatively small amount compared to NY - the philosophy seems to be to operate at or near the luxury tax threshold in Boston, while the Yanks have happily thumbed their noses at it for the last several years at least. It's worth noting that the Yanks have to pay roughly $1.40 for every $1.00 they actually spend, because of this.

yankeeno7 · December 27, 2006 3:04AM

I guess this must be repeated AGAIN. It has been proven that it doesnt matter how much you spend, you cant buy a championship. In fact, it doesnt even buy you second place, right Red Sox?

softparade · December 27, 2006 7:19AM

<< I guess this must be repeated AGAIN. It has been proven that it doesnt matter how much you spend, you cant buy a championship. In fact, it doesnt even buy you second place, right Red Sox? >>

VERY GOOD point

bags05 · December 27, 2006 7:32AM

Wow, Steinbrenner must be in a coma or something. He usually has his fingerprints on all those downside-of-their-career, high-dollar, big-name signings but this is so far removed from that. If Steinbrenner would ever stop meddling and let Cashman do his job for any length of time, there is no telling what the Yankees could do with that huge revenue stream (or river). We'll see if this is a sign of things to come or just a blip on the radar for Steinbrenner.

ctsoxfan · December 27, 2006 10:36AM

<< I guess this must be repeated AGAIN. It has been proven that it doesnt matter how much you spend, you cant buy a championship. In fact, it doesnt even buy you second place, right Red Sox? >>

Well then, why do the Yankees attempt to do this just about every year? Cashman is fooling no one with his Theo Epstein impression, we all know the free agent buying season isn't over yet, and if the Yanks dump RJ - they will pour that money and then some into other players. And, while it looks like the Yanks are trying to get rid of some dead weight, they still have a $200 million payroll. If it's been proven that you can't buy a championship, then let's get that down $70 million or so, and be more in line with the other top spenders of the league (Boston and the Mets, for example) and see how that works.

yankeeno7 · December 27, 2006 11:14AM

Cashman doing a Theo Epstein impression?

And that is the whole idea of dumping RJ....to use that money for other players. Could be Zito or Clemens. Who would you rather have?

I find it quite hilarious that Yankees haters are so much more critical of their moves than Yankees fans are. The haters get upset when they sign the big names but then ridicule them for losing some high salaries and investing in young talent....what way would you, the haters, like to see it be? I know I know, you would like to see the Yankees continue to make mistakes on washed up players. Makes y'all nervous that Stienbrenner has given up the reigns to Cashman, eh?

Why should the Yanks reduce payroll? To appease everyone else? Again, why does it matter? 140 million or 200 million, they arent buying the World Championship. IT HAS BEEN PROVEN AND THE ARGUEMENT HOLDS NO WATER. But lets say after 10 years they do win, everyone will cry that it was bought. So the Yankees will go on doing business as usual trying to win because they want to.

halosfan · December 27, 2006 11:18AM

Heck ... I wanted RJ on the Angels when he was a FA and decided to sign with Arizona. Screw him ... I hope the Angels stay away out of spite even though they have the pitching it takes to get the deal done.

80sJunkie · December 27, 2006 4:15PM

BYE BYE BIG UNIT

softparade · December 28, 2006 12:36AM

<< And, while it looks like the Yanks are trying to get rid of some dead weight, they still have a $200 million payroll. If it's been proven that you can't buy a championship, then let's get that down $70 million or so, and be more in line with the other top spenders of the league (Boston and the Mets, for example) and see how that works. >>

By Jim Caple
Page 2

Congratulations, Boston fans. Your Red Sox are the new Yankees.

Oh, I'm not saying that one World Series championship in the past 88 years is on par with the Yankees winning 26 championships and 39 American League pennants in the same period (I already get enough hate mail from New York fans to suggest such a ludicrous thing). But when the Red Sox signed J.D. (the Iron Man) Drew to a $70 million contract and invested $103 million in Daisuke Matsuzaka, they officially became everything Boston fans used to loathe about the Yankees. A team that fills out its roster by opening up a Costanza-thick wallet.

When your team adds $1,111,111.11 to a bid just because it looks cool, you're no longer entitled to complain about the Yankees' spending habits.While Boston's projected 2007 payroll (perhaps $140 million) is still substantially south of New York's, it still will likely be more than all the other teams in baseball. If the Red Sox aren't the new Evil Empire or co-Evil Empire, they at least are Wal-Mart to New York's Halliburton.

Hell, the Red Sox paid more just for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka than five teams paid their entire roster last year. And as Gordon Edes wrote in a terrific story on the wooing of Matsuzaka in Sunday's Boston Globe, the Red Sox arrived at the $51,111,111.11 bid because owner John Henry thought that string of 11s would be lucky. Now, when you have the luxury of slapping $1,111,111.11 on a bid for the pure look of it, you definitely are not living in the same neighborhood as the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates (or even the Chicago White Sox, for that matter).

It's to the point that if John Henry gained 40 pounds and started acting like an ass, you would think George Steinbrenner owned the Red Sox.

Not convinced the Red Sox have turned into the Yankees? Then consider this. No team has ever paid more money for a world championship than did the 2004 Red Sox (the Yankees have spent more trying to win, but their payroll was a mere $114 million when they won the Series in 2000). Further, when those Red Sox recorded the final out of that World Series, not a single player on the field was homegrown. When the Sox open the 2007 season, they may have just two homegrown players in the lineup, first baseman Kevin Youkilis and second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

A possible $140 million payroll. Signing two players for $170 million in a two-week span. Assembling a team from everyone else's farm system while trading away your own. The highest ticket prices in the game. Over-the-top fans seemingly everywhere. These are precisely the things Red Sox fans despised about the Yankees for years. And now they're also true of the Red Sox.

Next thing you know, Ronan Tynan will be singing "Sweet Caroline.''

Most teams have a distinct character, built up over the decades, a personality that persists almost without regard for actual record. The Twins will always be dependable Midwest farmers getting by on hard work, good soil and solid team fundamentals rather than stunning payrolls. The Athletics will always be West Coast free spirits going about the game their own way (whether that's drawing walks or drawing tattoos). The Yankees will always be pin-striped Gotham storm troopers dispatching opponents with cold corporate efficiency. The White Sox will always be the South Side blue-collar workers playing in the shadow of their yuppie northern neighbors. And for decades the Red Sox were the Calvinist, heroic underdogs always destined to fail tragically in the end.

That personality disappeared in October 2004 with the speed of a Big Papi home run leaving the yard, and no sane Red Sox fan would ever want it back. Understandably so. Who wants to have his heart broken again and again and again when you have the chance to live happily ever after with the person of your dreams? The Red Sox are finally on par with their hated rival and are delighted about it.

But that doesn't make things easier for everyone else. It used to be there was just the Yankees empire with which to contend. But the Sox knocking off the Yankees in 2004 didn't rid baseball of a menace. It simply meant there was another nuclear power in the ever-escalating arms race.

Sigh. It's enough to make you hope the Cubs never win.

ctsoxfan · December 28, 2006 3:21AM

This just in - looks like the Yanks may be stuck with Johnson, as Zito signs for obscene money with the crosstown Giants.

I like it. Don't clean out your locker yet, Randy.

ctsoxfan · December 28, 2006 3:31AM

And, Jim Caple is an awful writer with an agenda. I saw that on ESPN.com a few days ago, and wondered how long it would take before it got here.

I won't pretend that the Red Sox are not looking to improve the team each year - thank goodness for that. As Sox fans, we pay the highest ticket prices in MLB, and support the team like no other city. It's good to see the ownership dedicated to putting a winning team on the field, but unfortunately, the Sox reside in a division with the Yanks. The Yanks have 10 of the top 50 highest paid players in baseball, including 3 of the top 5. You have to spend a little just to compete with that, but make no mistake about it, there is only one Evil Empire that thumbs its nose at the luxury tax cap year after year. And, it's not Boston.

yankeeno7 · December 28, 2006 4:47AM

LOL yes, Im sure the articles I have seen you post all have top notch writers!

I dont think being "stuck" with RJ is a bad thing! Yeah, he may not be the pitcher he once was but still better than a good portion than what else is out there!

You can cry about the Bosox issues all you want. I highly doubt you will get any simpathy! And if it werent for being in the same division, your WS win wouldnt have been as NEARLY as sweet as what it was! We thank the Red Sox for the ups, the downs, and all the excitement! Now stop for just one moment and thank the Yankees for the same!

ctsoxfan · December 28, 2006 5:28AM

You are right - the rivalry with the Yankees makes being a Red Sox fan all the more enjoyable. And, going through NY to win the Series in 2004 made it even more perfect. No doubt, it pushes the Sox to stay competitive.

And, if the Yankees ever win another WS - you can thank us for pushing you along as well.

yankeeno7 · December 28, 2006 5:34AM

I may find your posts regarding the Yanks and Red Sox ludicrous (as you probably do mine!) but you're still a class guy, Jerry! Even no matter what all these CU board members say about ya!

softparade · December 28, 2006 1:26PM

<< I may find your posts regarding the Yanks and Red Sox ludicrous (as you probably do mine!) but you're still a class guy, Jerry! Even no matter what all these CU board members say about ya!

>>

YES ...... Jerry is indeed a great guy ....... with an agenda of course

softparade · December 28, 2006 1:36PM

<< Further, when those Red Sox recorded the final out of that World Series, not a single player on the field was homegrown. When the Sox open the 2007 season, they may have just two homegrown players in the lineup, first baseman Kevin Youkilis and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. >>

Say what you want about Jim Caple .... NOTHING can dismiss the above FACT. And Jerry tries to harp on the Yankees farm system

80sJunkie · December 29, 2006 12:00PM

good bye big unit. Randy was never very affective in the american league . Ship him back to the weak national league where he can win 16 + games

grote15 · December 29, 2006 12:13PM

Say what you will about Randy, but he did win a lot of games last year and pitched through pain to give the Yanks another 200+ innings. He's not the Big Unit of old, certainly, but he's a lot better than a lot of other guys out there. Are the Yanks hoping Pavano will return this season? Seems a bit risky to let Johnson go, IMO.

math4cards · December 30, 2006 5:38AM

80's junkie please keep some of those informational tidbits to yourself - it makes you look a little bit out of the loop. Randy Johnson won 17 games last year in the AL and 17 games the year before in the AL - and he's in his 40's. With the Mariners - in the A.L. he dominated - including 2 seasons of an under 3.00 ERA - over a 3 year span he went - now write this down next time you are going to say something that you didn't think out - he went 43-6 with an ERA under 3 and 680 strikeouts and one of those seasons he only started 8 games...do you get the picture?
Randy wants to go for all the right reasons and the Yankees staff is shaping up very, VERY well without him - but did anyone think where he'd be in the rotation? He'd be 4th without Clemens and 5th with Clemens - you think he wants that? With Arizona he'd be 2nd behind Webb - but 4th or 5th?
And Carl Pavano is a machine that has pitched very well in the past - but now is getting injured all over the place - I'd love to see him put a full season together with the Yankees. Mussina, Wang, Pettitte, Pavano, Igawa - and then of course Philip Hughes, Roger Clemens possibly, Humberto Sanchez. They are loaded!
And the Sox are nothing like the Yankees - unfortunately for them - the Yankees keep bringing in 80 year olds...I think the problem started with Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner...then you get Kevin Browns and Randy Johnsons and who knows maybe a Julio Franco who is now 48 and still playing well.

yankeeno7 · January 3, 2007 12:38AM

From the way I am reading it on MLB.com, Randy Johnson is the one who requested the trade. Johnson's brother passed away and he contacted Cashman to tell him he would like to be closer to home again.

The Yanks and D-Backs are still trying to work out a deal. If this trade happens, I think you will see the Yanks push hard to get Clemens to sign with them.

Makes you wonder how much the Yanks have been talking to Clemens. An open spot and having Andy Pettite.....only time will tell!

ToppsCo1lector · January 4, 2007 4:48AM

Johnson and the D-Backs have tentatively agreed to a contract extension through the 08 season if a trade is made with the Yankees.

ctsoxfan · January 4, 2007 5:28AM

It sounds close now. This is amazing, all of these un-Yankee-like moves being made...

kcballboy · January 4, 2007 7:42AM

ESPN reports a tentative deal has been reached with the D-Backs for Luis Vizcaino and 2 minor leaguers.

53BKid · January 4, 2007 1:26PM

I hope the minor leaguers throw some heat!

yankeeno7 · January 4, 2007 1:51PM

Yankees Hot Stove stated that one of them throws a 98 MPH fastball.

ctsoxfan · January 4, 2007 3:46PM

Doesn't seem like they got anything for him, but it still is addition by subtraction for the Yanks. He just never worked out there in the big spots that they brought him in for.

yankeeno7 · January 4, 2007 10:11PM

Actually, they got another much needed effective middle relief guy and one other very promising starting pitcher that throws hard. The third pitcher is kind of a question mark right now because he pitched very well last season in the minors but has struggled during winter ball. The infielder is a utility guy. Not much there. I dont know why they wanted him.

All in all I think it was good for both teams.

Yankees Want To Trade Johnson?

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