Interesting that the objections to McLouth “center” on his defense while we have so many fans contemplating noodle arm Damon as the ’09 centerfielder. Some of Johnnys cf misplays late in the season make McLouth look like a Gold Glover.

Also Doumit can play OF and 1B, insurance against Posada not recovering and for failure to sign Tex.

antone – couldn’t agree more that this is cashman’s make or break season. the farm is no longer barron (to his credit, meaning we can afford to give up players/picks), there are money/players coming off the books (financial/roster flexibility), and the team is in a position where it actually needs to get better to compete (we did not make the playoffs). if, under these circumstances, we don’t see marked improvement, i think he gets the blame. however, if the team improves, and continues to get contributions from within (which is cashman’s foundation) i think he gets the credit. and i think this is the season it really has to go one of those ways. i don’t think we can sit here next year wondering how good/bad brian cashman is. i think we’ll now by then.

Fair point. I’ve only see him play a handful of times so I have no idea what kind of fielder he is. But he was a big part of my championship-winning fantasy team this year!
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Guess it’s a good thing they don’t count defense in fantasy then!

I haven’t seen him play often enough to judge for myself, but I know the general feeling is that he should be at a corner position.

I think what Cashman decides to do in CF is more important to how we evaluate him next season then just throwing money at Sabathia and Teixeira. I think anyone can do that. Then to a greater extent, if they don’t get the guys they want by throwing big money at them, then what moves will Cashman make? This is a make or break season for Cashman in my eyes, because there isn’t much out there if the Yanks don’t land the big money guys, so he is going to have to get creative I think.

Nate McLouth (-15), has been absolutely terribly with the glove. McLouth may be better suited to a corner position.
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Fair point. I’ve only see him play a handful of times so I have no idea what kind of fielder he is. But he was a big part of my championship-winning fantasy team this year!

McLouth, Peavy, et al: it’s all a matter of what you are prepared to pay. I believe the Yankees will first try to purchase top-tier talent on the free agent market, where they can outbid other teams if they want to. For the names mentioned here, who are team-controlled for quite some time, many other teams will enter the bidding and the key factor becomes talent. Most teams demand major-league ready players (or close to it — at least AA level), of whom the Yankee organization has few. To land these players, the Yankees will need to offer the likes of Hughes, Jackson, Melancon — the pick of the litter, so to speak. If Cashman offers less, then other teams will simply outbid him.

I like Peavy, but I much prefer pitchers who have survived in the AL, especially in the AL East. That’s why CC, Lowe, and Burnett are attractive (and, yes, all have downsides, whether it be length-of-contract, age, or injury history), just as Ted Lily was a couple of years ago.

From what I have seen McLouth is not a good defensive CF according to all the defensive rating systems that are out there.

Here’s one example at least:

Center Field: The Padres have some pretty good defense all around, and the top centerfielder has been Jody Gerut (+8). Now, again, there is an innings issue. Gerut has 500 to Carlos Beltran’s (+6) 1000, but if Gerut maintains his pace for the next couple of months, he could earn the top spot. One of the surprise hitters of the year, Nate McLouth (-15), has been absolutely terribly with the glove. McLouth may be better suited to a corner position.

assuming the pirates are dumb enough to take our scraps again
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I wouldn’t call Tabata scraps, exactly.

that’s all assuming the pirates are dumb enough to take our scraps again, i mean when do you think they’ll learn? There comes a point when u gotta stop being the laughing stock of the league, ask the Rays.

I don’t see a place for Doumit but I’d take McLouth for CF, absolutely. He’s probably not as good as his 2008 indicates but he’s certainly a capable starting-caliber MLB CF with a bit of speed and some pop.

The interesting thing is what Pittsburgh might want for him. Since Andrew McCutchen and Steve Pearce are more or less ready to be full-time players now, one would think that the Pirates have to make room by moving McLouth and Doumit.