West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: Chamillitary Click on January 22, 2014, 01:19:42 PM
-
Seven years, 55 million. Player option after the 4th year.
Pretty pricey, but hopefully worth every penny. I think the Yankees should handle the AL East if he lives up to the cash.
-
The revenue the Yankees earn from the Japanese fans, media etc... should cover a good amount of the pricey contract.
The Yankees are still going to finish 3rd and miss the postseason though. Tanaka's unproven, Robertson's most likely going to fail as a closer, they don't have any depth, Kelly Johnson is their starting 2nd baseman, their old geezers won't stay healthy, CC's no longer an ace, they still need to fill the void at 3rd, their rotation is still pretty shitty, the Rays are far better and the Red Sox are even better than the Rays.
The sweet irony is that with the Tanaka signing the Yankees went over the luxury tax limit. If they were going to go over it anyway then they should've resigned Cano.
-
It'll be interesting to see how he turns out. Daisuke has been a huge disappointment, but Iwakuma and Darvish have both looked great so far.
-
I think the Yanks did the smart thing only giving him 7 years. It's pricey, but like the Dodgers with Kershaw, they're really only paying for the dude's prime years. It's better to give up 7 years $155 Mil for a players prime, than let's say less per year, but stretch it out over 10 years. Then you have this grossly overpaid mid-30's shot player on your roster and the Yanks have too many of those.
-
Stuff/profile wise he's not really close to any of the past Japanese pitchers.
More like an unflashy number 3 or 4 starter/innings eater. Like Mike Pelfrey or Paul Maholm.
-
Stuff/profile wise he's not really close to any of the past Japanese pitchers.
More like an unflashy number 3 or 4 starter/innings eater. Like Mike Pelfrey or Paul Maholm.
Everyone's enamored with the 24-0 and low era. They're not really considering the rest.
-
Everyone's enamored with the 24-0 and low era. They're not really considering the rest.
Lol, Brian Kenny's been arguing with random people on twitter about how those 24 wins mean nothing all day (I do agree with him though).
Although considering how the NPB used doctored baseballs that were easier to hit/practically flew out of the stadiums it's a miracle that he didn't lose a game in the regular season last year. But then again it's still the NPB/quad-A level baseball.
-
Stuff/profile wise he's not really close to any of the past Japanese pitchers.
More like an unflashy number 3 or 4 starter/innings eater. Like Mike Pelfrey or Paul Maholm.
Really? I heard that's kinda what he's projected as initially but that there was a lot of upside as well.
-
Lol, Brian Kenny's been arguing with random people on twitter about how those 24 wins mean nothing all day (I do agree with him though).
Although considering how the NPB used doctored baseballs that were easier to hit/practically flew out of the stadiums it's a miracle that he didn't lose a game in the regular season last year. But then again it's still the NPB/quad-A level baseball.
I think it's essentially like taking a guy out of the Minor's who's head and shoulders above the rest. Doesn't mean he'll be better than everyone in the Major's, but the potential is there. I don't think his 24 wins there translates into instant success here, but I do think he'll be a solid option.
-
Really? I heard that's kinda what he's projected as initially but that there was a lot of upside as well.
Is there upside? Absolutely. He might even be a Mark Buehrle type (unflashy but consistent number 2 starter/innings eater).
But can you count on that upside becoming a reality? No, you can't. Especially not when the stakes are as high as they are for the Yankees and Tanaka right now.
I think it's essentially like taking a guy out of the Minor's who's head and shoulders above the rest. Doesn't mean he'll be better than everyone in the Major's, but the potential is there. I don't think his 24 wins there translates into instant success here, but I do think he'll be a solid option.
I think he'll definitely be a solid option as well. Not fantastic or great, but decent and hopefully effective. And with CC and Kuroda in the rotation he'll probably slotted into the number 3 spot in the rotation where he belongs (for now at least) and will leave Nova in the 4th spot where he belongs as well.
-
So much for Cubs "refusing to be outbid" lol. Teams were definitely willing to match the annual salary, but nobody wanted to match the number of years as international talent who have yet to play a game in the Majors is always a huge risk.
Either way, I'm happy for the Yankees. Lord knows they needed this one, badly. Yanks have had horrible luck with their Japanese prospects in the past, so hopefully this one isn't an absolute bust. It's hard to imagine him sucking given how much hype he's gotten, but we all thought the same thing about Daisuke as well.
-
Well according to some/most reports, the Yankees forgot to do their homework when they went overseas. Like with Kei Igawa a few years back they asked him what kind of pitches he throws after they signed him to that huge deal.
This time they've done their homework properly, plus Kuroda should be pretty huge in helping Tanaka adjust to life in the major leagues. God knows Ichiro won't do shit though.
-
Ellsbury - CF
Jeter - SS
Tex - 1B
McCann - C
Beltran - RF
Soriano - DH
Kelly Johnson/Nunez - 3B
Brian Roberts/Kelly Johnson/Brendan Ryan - 2B
Gardner/Ichiro - LF
Stay healthy & I'll take that lineup over the Rays & it's arguably better than the Red Sox.
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Pineda (Phelps until Pineda is ready to rock). Also a huge wild card.
Could still sign Garza or Santana.
I'll take the Rays & Sox's staffs, but not by as much as it seems.
Bullpen is a mess. Could get ugly. Weakest point.
-
Ellsbury - CF
Jeter - SS
Tex - 1B
McCann - C
Beltran - RF
Soriano - DH
Kelly Johnson/Nunez - 3B
Brian Roberts/Kelly Johnson/Brendan Ryan - 2B
Gardner/Ichiro - LF
Stay healthy & I'll take that lineup over the Rays & it's arguably better than the Red Sox.
Bwahahahahahaha. I want whatever it is you're smoking.
CC
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Pineda (Phelps until Pineda is ready to rock). Also a huge wild card.
Could still sign Garza or Santana.
I'll take the Rays & Sox's staffs, but not by as much as it seems.
Bullpen is a mess. Could get ugly. Weakest point.
LMAO. You should do stand up, you're killing me right now lol.
There's no way that staff comes close to the Rays or Red Sox. Hell, it's just barely better than the one the Orioles have.
The bullpen is a mess but it's the one area the Yankees actually have depth. Most of the players who make that depth are terrible but it's depth nonetheless.
-
Ellsbury > Victorino
Jeter = Bogaerts...Jeter's older, Bogaerts has potential but unproven.
Tex >/= Napoli
McCann >> AJ
Beltran < Nava
Soriano < Ortiz
2nd Base << Pedroia
Third Base < Middlebrooks
Gardner/Ichiro >/= Bradley...For now.
I gave Nava & Ortiz, but if you told me Beltran beasted in the smaller park left handed & came pretty close to Nava outside of average, pretty reasonable & Ortiz was about to get pushed into retirement before busting out last year; no saying him & Soriano can't come close.
Again I said arguably...not definitely.
-------
Pitching
Lester & Bucholz are the only guarantees (if there is such a thing) in that rotation. Lackey, Peavy, Dempster are aging. I can give the same bullshit you just automatically assume for the Yankees & say "they're geezers". Going into last season they weren't even supposed to be good. Now they had a good year & you're locking those three in? This almost exact Redsox team was projected to finish last in the AL going into the season lmao. You already mentioned that "CC isn't an ace anymore" based off of one shady season; so you're biased. Tanaka is supposedly Darvish-like...who would be the ace of the Red Sox staff & Kuroda just had a great season.
The Rays are probably going to move David Price...so there goes the best pitcher in the rotation. Moore & Cobb are beast, no lie. Archer could have a great year. Helickson posted a 5+ ERA last season.
BUT AGAIN....I said I'd take both staffs over the Yankees...but as you can see, not by thaaaat much.
-
Non-Yankee fan chiming in.
I haven't seen Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts enough to know how good they are defensively, but I don't think the line-up is THAT bad. With good enough pitching, it seems competent enough to make a run for the play-offs. Unfortunately, they DON'T have good enough pitching lol.
That starting rotation is nowhere close to bring them into contention, and that's even if you assume Tanaka lives up to the hype. I don't know how willing Tampa Bay would be to make a deal with a rival, but if Yanks can find a way to get David Price, that would be amazing.
-
Again I said arguably...not definitely.
It's not even debatable. The argument begins and ends with "which team has more depth?" Boston has lots of inhouse talent to keep them afloat should their key guys get hurt, and even if their own prospects aren't ready they can always trade one of them for proven major league talent. The Yankees don't have that depth or the prospects to pull that off. And what's even worse is they have to rely on past-their-prime dinosaurs and men made of glass.
Although I do agree with you that the Yankees lineup is better than the one the Rays have.
As far as lineups in the AL East goes IMO it's
Red Sox > Orioles > Yankees > Blue Jays > Rays
The Orioles don't have the pitching to back up their lineup but on it's own it's still better than the Yankees's lineup.
Pitching...
Again, depth. The Red Sox have some inhouse options like Allen Webster (their equivalent of David Phelps) and Felix Doubront (their equivalent of Ivan Nova) and a few others in their system to keep the rotation afloat if/when their big guys fall to the DL during the season. The Yankees don't have nearly enough depth. Assuming that their fifth starter is Phelps that just leaves Pineda, Nuno and Warren as the only other options if any of the starters get hurt. We still have no idea if we'll even see Pineda this year, Nuno is injury prone and Warren's track record as a starter has not been great.
CC's troubles last year were mainly caused by his declining velocity. Unless's he learned how to throw off-speed pitches more effectively this offseason I have no reason to suspect that his troubles won't continue. At this point he's more like an expensive number 2.
And the Rays? Again, depth. They've always known that Price would be a goner (especially now thanks to the Felix, Verlander and Kershaw deals) and have a ready supply of pitching left and right, up and down throughout that system. Even with Price's depature the Rays are a team that I'm sure already has a plan B to soften the blow. Plus there's no garauntee that he'll be moved this season.
Non-Yankee fan chiming in.
I haven't seen Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts enough to know how good they are defensively, but I don't think the line-up is THAT bad. With good enough pitching, it seems competent enough to make a run for the play-offs. Unfortunately, they DON'T have good enough pitching lol.
That starting rotation is nowhere close to bring them into contention, and that's even if you assume Tanaka lives up to the hype. I don't know how willing Tampa Bay would be to make a deal with a rival, but if Yanks can find a way to get David Price, that would be amazing.
The Yankees lineup isn't THAT bad, it's got potential, but there are a lot of risks (mostly health related risks) and a lot has to go just right for the Yankees to really be a threat. And there's no way the Rays trade Price to the Yankees. More than anything because the Yankees don't have fucking shit to offer the Rays. The Rays want prospects and young guys they can control for years to come, the only AL East team that can make a legitimate offer for Price is the Red Sox. Price in a Red Sox uniform won't happen either since Tampa would probably prefer a trade with Texas or the Diamondbacks. Both teams have the pieces at least to get Price.
-
So to clarify, your judging the lineups & bullpen based off of players filling in for guys who may or may not get injured. Fair enough. Full strength though, it's a coin flip. Fair enough.
I just never went into a season saying, "Well the Yankees lineup is weak because IF McCann, Tex & Beltran go down for the season we don't have anyone to replace them". I was just comparing full strength vs. full strength.
I do agree the bullpen is a big flaw, unless Robertson is lights out.
-
I was just comparing full strength vs. full strength.
While I'd like to think that you're baseball savy enough to already know this, you can never ever base your outlook on a team by looking at "full strength."
There has never been a team capable of performing at "full strength" for a full 162 games (and Spring Training and the postseason).
There's always going to be a hitter who gets hurt and misses most if not all of the year, there's always going to be a hitter or a couple of hitters who have a good month and be a waste of a roster spot for the rest of the year, there's always a pitcher who has an off year and can never seem to win, there's always a pitcher who gets hurt and misses a huge chunk of the season, and so on.
The Yankees are my prime candidate for a team that won't be at full strength even once in 2014. Too many geriatrics, too many declining players, there are no reinforcements to speak of in the minors, and too many injury risks. At full strength the Yankees might be able to fight with the Orioles for 3rd place in the division, at 50-75% strength (which they'll inevitably be at for most of the season) they'll be fighting for fourth place in the division.
-
8)