Looking Back
Isn't it ironic that Johnny Damon returned to Yankee Stadium on the same night the Yankees announced that Nick Johnson suffered another setback in his rehab? It got me thinking about the moves the Yankees did and didn't make this offseason, so let's review.
We can start with the decision to pass on Damon and Matsui, which looks like a pretty good one. Matsui has been bad this year, hitting .251/.331/.416. And while he has played 17 games in the outfield, he has recorded a total of 16 putouts in those appearances- yikes! Damon has been a better player .272/.362/.422, but he simply wasn't coming back to the Yankees for $6 million.
Another good "pass" was the decision to non-tender Chien-Ming Wang. Wang still hasn't pitched for Washington and it sounds like he might only make it back in a relief role in September if at all. The Yankees would have had to commit at least $4 million to Wang, so this was a very good decision.
Next let's look at the Granderson trade. On the surface, this has been a disaster. Austin Jackson has better numbers than Granderson and Kennedy and Coke have put together solid seasons. But looking a bit deeper makes this less lopsided. Start with Jackson, his BABIP is an amazing .419. That won't last and when it drops down Jackson is going to have a tough time being productive because he does not seem to be very powerful (1 HR). Granderson hasn't been very good, but this is a guy who has shown the ability to hit in the majors in the past. For now, I am going to say that this is a season we have seen from many other players when they first came to New York and hold off evaluating this trade until we see the 2011 Granderson.
The infamous Nick Johnson signing has to go down as a huge blunder. Not because he was hurt, but because of what he was. Let me explain a little here. Johnson at his best is a slow-footed OBP machine who can play first base. The Yankees needed and still need players who can cover multiple positions and hit a bit. They needed to enter 2010 realizing that the DH slot would be needed to rest guys like Posada, Jeter and A-Rod on a regular basis. Putting Johnson on this team ignored those realities and you could make a strangely compelling argument that his injury was a blessing because it allowed the Yankees to use the DH slot the way they should have in the first place. (And the way they will inevitably have to in 2011)
One thing the Yankees nailed was the trade for Javy Vazquez. We know all the things Vazquez isn't, but consider what he is, a guy who is going to throw 200 innings this year and while his ERA is ugly- 4.89- it has been below 4 since mid-May. He has been a solid #4 starter, exactly what this team needed because remember the alternative was Joba in the rotation and considering his 2010, that seems like it would have been a disaster.
Furthermore, the Yankees sent Melky Cabrera to Atlanta in the deal which cleared a spot for Brett Gardner to play every day. Melky has done almost exactly what he did last year, which is enough for a fourth outfielder, but not enough to play every day. Gardner has been a revelation and don't forget the trade also netted the Yankees Boone Logan, who is making a case to be a big part of the bullpen. Throw in the fact that the big prospect the Yankees sent to Atlanta in the trade is currently out with a tear in his pitching elbow and I think we can call this trade a big win.
The Yankees made two miserable signings with the additions of Winn and Park. Winn didn't do anything in his brief stay in New York and while he has hit better in St. Louis, he still can't hit lefty pitching- the exact thing the Yankees brought him in for. Hopefully, the Yankees will learn from the Park signing that a couple of appearances in the playoffs do not eradicate a career's worth of stats.
The Brian Bruney trade didn't work out for either team, but you have to ding the Yankees more than the Nationals. The Yankees could have used the Rule 5 pick to protect one of the players they lost (Kroenke and Texeira) but they used it on a guy who washed out of camp and lulled them into a false sense of security about their outfield depth.
Overall, it was a down offseason for the Yankees, a big departure from their 2008-09 successes. And while they have eradicated some of their mistakes with recent additions, they still lack a guy who can step in and replace A-Rod or Jeter while providing even average production at the plate. That's a mistake they cannot repeat when planning for next year.
Comments
Hey, Peter. Random comments on your post.
1. The Yanks had to start the process of getting younger. Simply had to. A roster clogged with again, poor fielding DH types was the last thing the Yankees needed. They had to get younger, more athletic and better defensively. Further, Matsui and Damon weren't coming back to the Yankees for the same amount of money that they got from LA and Detroit. They would have felt insulted. Letting either one of them go was painful, letting both go doubly so. But it was time. Additionally, I can't help but think that the Yankees were possibly sending a subtle message to Jeter, Rivera and Posada (and maybe Boras, too) that the Yankees are going to be a bit smarter and less impulsive about how they spend their money. Oh sure, their financial resources pose a competitive advantage which they will deploy when and as needed (Sabathia, Texeira), but overall, they are going to be less impulsive and more intelligent about how they allocate those resources. The old man is gone, and even the Yankees' resources are limited.
2. I wasn't sold on Granderson because we knew -- damn it, we knew! -- that he had lousy numbers against left-handers. They're paying him a lot of money to be, effectively, a platoon player, because even when he's in there against southpaws, he's not hitting them, so he might as well be sitting anyway for all that he's accomplishing. Time will tell with Austin Jackson, but overall, I would've preferred to keep him. Kennedy's accomplishments have to be considered in light of the fact that he's in the NL West. It's not the same as the AL East. I don't think he was going to amount to much pitching in the AL East.
3. The Johnson signing left me cold from day one. Too many injuries, too slow on the basepaths. Further, if you let Damon and Matsui go because, among other things, you want to keep the DH slot open to spot-rest older guys like A-Rod and Jeter, then signing Johnson to be your regular DH makes no sense because that flies in the face of that strategy. I just don't get it. I am in complete agreement with you -- Johnson's injury was a blessing in disguise.
4. Agree on Vazquez. Don't miss Melky one bit. We got the best we were ever going to get from him last year with his walk-offs. We sold high.
5. Couldn't agree more on Park and Winn. Wang's potential arbitration expense made their decision a no-brainer (As an aside, the whole arbitration process seems to me to be a joke - it seems so heavily skewed to the players. It also seems so arbitrary [and no, that was not a lame attempt at humor]).
6. I think the Thames signing was pretty good. I'd like to see him get some more at-bats. Yeah, he should only be allowed to DH, but if they hadn't signed Johnson and planned on letting Thames play a bit more (not full time, just a bit more), I think it would have been a better approach.
Posted by: Greg | August 18, 2010 12:21 AM |
I was extremely hard on the yanks going for Vasquez, so - *gulp* - maybe I was wrong. He does eat up innings, and I'm especially happy he's around with Pettite being hurt. I gotta believe that when the Yankees signed Johnson they weren't expecting an everyday player... I think it was a gamble that he would be healthy and productive at opportune times for platoon/pinch hitting. Especially since this isn't his first time as a yankee... they must have known what they were getting into, and what the risks were.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 18, 2010 02:02 PM |