Who’s On First (After Jason)?
Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon both have their hands up.
Via Peter Abraham:
Hideki Matsui said today he would be willing to play first base next season.
“I’m pretty sure I could play the infield as well, at first base,” he said. “I’m going to make sure I prepare myself to play on the field, not just in the batter’s box.” Matsui will have surgery to repair cartilage damage on his left knee once the season is over. The Yankees, he said, have not approached him about a position switch. “Not necessarily. But I used to play first and third. As long as I get a little work in, I should be OK,” he said.
And, via Mark Feinsand -
[Johnny] Damon has played his entire career in the outfield, starting more than 1,200 games in center field. He shifted to left field last season, while also seeing his share of time as a designated hitter. But Damon, who turns 35 this November, is open to the idea of moving to first base if it will help the Yankees.
“I was open to (first base) this spring training, but we somehow had a whole bunch of first basemen, so I couldn’t get any work there,” Damon said, referring to players such as Morgan Ensberg, Shelley Duncan and Wilson Betemit. “That changed everything about me playing any first this year. Even if I have to play 20 or 30 games there just to have a mix, I’d definitely be happy to do that.”
Me? I’d still rather see the Yankees make a run for someone like Chris Davis. But, if the choice is between bringing back Giambi or playing a bunch of guys at first, including Damon and Matsui, I guess that I would rather see the latter happen than the former.
The Yankees would be foolish not to go after Teixeira, even if a ten year deal is what it takes. Ten years takes him to Giambi’s age now. Do you think he’s likely to fall off as much as Jason did? He’s a GG calibre first baseman, and defense, especially at that position, doesn’t drop off much with age, so he’s already a better player at the end of his contract than Jason was. He’s also less of an all-or-nothing guy than Jason, and hitting from the left side at Yankee Stadium, you’ll see a consistent 40 homer guy.
After all, we’re not talking about a ten year deal for a guy who’s already 32, right?
There should be no serious objections to Teixeira as a player for the length and cost of the contract. The only serious objection is the fear that Posada may need a position for most of the remainder of his contract – but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be a DH anyway.
Nonsense. 10 year deals make no sense for anyone who will be 29 years old next season. Teixeira is a good player but the Yankees shouldn’t be locked into any one player for that long.
Teixeira won’t get a 10 year contract offer from any other team in baseball so why should the Yankees bid against themselves?
~~10 year deals make no sense for anyone who will be 29 years old next season.~~
FWIW, IIRC, A-Rod was 31 last winter when Hank gave him a ten-year deal.
A-Rod’s deal doesn’t make sense either…8 years would have been plenty. I think Teixeira will get 8 years max, unless someone pulls a “Barry Zito”