Bullet Dodged

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Looks like Posada could be going under the knife as his persistent shoulder issues haven't improved. He's on the 14-day DL now but apparently a candidate for the 112-day or 168-day disabled list too.

I'm sure Omar offered him every penny the MFYs did and more.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't doubt it.

I'd like to think that Omar wouldn't have offered as many years, though. But given that he gave Luis Castillo four years, he very well may have been willing to do the same with Posada.

[metirish]

Wasn't there talk that Minaya would go five years to get Posada? anyway that's a big bullet dodged .

[Guest Triple Dee]

I wouldn't have blamed Omar if he had given him four years, considering Hor-hay had never been on the DL before this.

The MFY are in deep caca. I'd put some money on them missing the playoffs this year.

[Frayed Knot]

I was against a Posada signing from the beginning. Yeah he had never been DL'd before, but that sort of thing isn't generally as good a predictive factor as is age and at 36 y/o you're treading on thin ice with a backstop from day 1. Plus you'd be paying him coming off his best year ever (read: total outlier) while almost certainly getting significantly less.

That Posada could make himself useful down the road as a 1st base/DH if this thing becomes a worst-case scenario (might even end a catching career) means the Yanx aren't totally screwed long-term - but it still shoots a huge whole in their lineup and would have shot an even bigger one in ours.

[MFS62]

Have to confess. Since he has been on that team I have disliked Posada more than any other Yank, and that includes Captain Clutch.
Why?
Because he looks like my cousin.
And I can't stand my cousin.

Later

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Signing anyone with Yankee taint is always a bad thing.

But speaking of dodging a bullet...Barry Zito is freaking 0-6!

Time for some accountability: I, (state your name), apologize to Omar Minaya for all the bad things I said two years ago when you didn't sign Barry Zito. I now declare that you know more about these things than I do. Except for the Bannister trade.

Thank you.

[metirish]

Unnamed scouts claim Zito has no arm strength and thus can't throw his curve like he would want , especially because his "fastball" is in the mid eighties it makes that curve look like rubbish.

[Guest themetfairy]

As much as I wanted Zito, I knew at the time that it would have been foolhardy to try and match the contract that SF offered. I never faulted Omar for that.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Here are the threads where we discussed the possiblities of the Mets getting Zito and Posada

[metirish]

I was naive to say the least in regards to Zito and what it would take to get him.

[Guest sharpie]

That Posada thread ends with the only post from User 362.

[nymr83]

Nymr83 wrote: Rich "freaking" Harden is arguably a better bet going forward than Barry Zito. not that I have any problem with Zito.

Can I amend my view to cut out the second sentence of that post?

wow that was the only posada thread? i cant believe i didnt voice my view on that one

[Frayed Knot]

If Posada is out for any length of time Jose Molina's going to get exposed eventually.

He's a decent (read: typical) backup catcher in that he's good defensively and not much with the bat. But since coming to the Yanx at mid-season last year he's hit a more than respectable .297/.310/.432 and some short-sighted MFY fans have themselves convinced they've found a diamond in the rough.
Problem is, he's a lifetime .245/.278/.351 guy whose recent offense is more likely a quirk of numbers than a sudden increase in talent. He's even 0 for his last 12 before which he was hitting about .350 w/power.


To me though, NYY backup catchers are like Keith Lockhart back when he was w/Atlanta. They can suck all year long but I swear whenever I'm looking they become All-Stars. John Flaherty couldn't hit for shit except every time I tuned in he was smacking one in the gap. Hell, even Chad Moeller (who the Yanx just DFA'd when they prematurely thought Posada's troubles were over) was hitting .400 during his brief stay in the Bronx.

[Guest AG/DC]

It's worth noting however, that there are plenty of catchers who are latebloomers offensively. These include Posada himself and our own Ramon Castro.

[seawolf17]

]Edgy DC Dec 28 2006 12:32 PM New odds for the first opening day starter at CitiField Pedro Martinez: 9-2. Mike Pelfrey: 10-1 Dontrelle Willis: 10-1 Phil Humber 12-1 Tom Glavine: 19-1 John Maine: 20-1 Mark Mulder: 22-1 Deolis Guerra: 25-1 Oliver Perez: 28-1 Kevin Mulvey: 30-1 Bobby Parnell: 30-1 Roy Oswalt: 30-1 Jonathan Niese: 35-1 Aaron Heilman: 36-1 Roy Halliday: 40-1 Barry Zito: 60-1

I guess I should have taken "field." Wonder what those odds were?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Since the Mets opened on the road this year, will they be opening at home next year? (I hope so; I'd like the first game at Citi Field to be a season opener. And I'd like the last game at Shea to be World Series Game 7.)

[Frayed Knot]

There's late bloomers and then there's late bloomers.
But those NYY fans who think JM could be a starter on most other teams are mostly seeing the small sample and thinking it's going to continue. Except that he'll turn 34 before the season is out and has never been a full-time backstop yet (never had 250 ABs).
Ramon has never been a full-timer either.

Posada, meanwhile, was hauling down more than half the assignments by age 26 and was a multiple All-Star before turning 30.

[Willets Point]

Frayed Knot wrote: Problem is, he's a lifetime .245/.278/.351 guy whose recent offense is more likely a quirk of numbers than a sudden increase in talent. He's even 0 for his last 12 before which he was hitting about .350 w/power.

Or it could be the Yankee pharmaceutical advantage.

[nymr83]

Speaking of the Zito bullet dodged, this just in from CBS:

]News: Barry Zito was demoted to the bullpen Monday by the San Francisco Giants, who hope the former ace can correct his problems by working in relief. Zito, who only 16 months ago signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Giants to lead their rotation, was informed of the move in a meeting with manager Bruce Bochy. The left-hander has lost his first six starts this season and has a 7.53 ERA that jumped considerably after Zito was tagged for eight earned runs in a 10-1 loss Sunday to Cincinnati. "We'll watch and see how things go," Bochy told MLB.com. "Right now, we're going to leave it at that, that he's going to be helping us in the bullpen." Recently recalled Patrick Misch will slide into the rotation while Zito is in the bullpen and Kevin Correia is out with a strained oblique.