WasWatching.com Water Cooler Talk 1/12/09
Posted by Steve L. on January 12th, 2009 · Comments (22)
Feel free to use this post as a place for you to comment on anything Yankees-related (or within reach of tagging the bag of being Yankees-related on a decent slide) today. It could be a casual conversation offering, or, something you saw in the news, or something very detailed that you want to share that’s within the territory of Yankeeland.
Or, comment on something that someone else has posted here in the comments…
Have fun. Play nice. And, remember, keep it Yankees-focused.
P.S. – if you want to discuss the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame election results, as a special treat, here – that’s O.K., today, too.
KEEP NADY CAMPAIGN!!
I just started it.
And I counter your campaign with a:
TRADE NADY! HE’S MEDIOCRE AND KIND OF BORING!
Really, I can see why the Yankees might want to keep him and use him as a bench bat. He’d be useful. At the same time, if they trade him, they might actually be able to get something back for him that will help them for more than one year. Which is why I think they should trade him, given that he’s not an absolutely necessary piece.
Hahaha oh boy i like this, a debate. But this is almost getting as old as the “CC doesn’t like NY or want to be a Yankee because he didn’t immediately accept our contract offer” debate.
Nady has value on both sides. He’s our best trade option because his value is at his highest, and if we keep him we have some good outfield depth which is one thing we haven’t had in a couple years (i’ll go as far as 2006 when we had Damon, Melky, Abreu, Bernie and Aaron Guile). I, like Steve, hope we keep both Nady and Swish but won’t be broken hearted if some deal comes up where we can get a good return.
The way I feel is that with the aged and potentially infirmed in the outfield, the Yanks should hold on to Swish and Nady (though Swish was lousy with the White Sox last year). They have depth in the outfield and that’s fine. Of the two, I would rather see Swish go in that they’ll get the draft pick at the end of Nady’s contract AND he’s playing for a contract. Quite honestly, they need a hungry player who can sort of replace Abreu. Swish is a gritty player that can play multiple positions( not all that amazing well) BUT he could be used as a supersub/role player/backup very effectively. Once again, the caveat with Swisher is that he wasn’t that good with Chicago last year and that worries me a little.
FWIW, recycling something from last year…
If Rice makes it today, is that good news for Bernie?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/sotd/archives/514
If Rice makes it today, is that good news for Bernie?
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It may be better news for Don Mattingly.
butchie, prove these two things to me:
1) Nick Swisher doesn’t play the corner outfield well, which you constantly claim.
2) The definition of what makes a player “hungry,” and why hungry players are better than players under contract.
3) How two unknown draft picks that may never develop into anything are more valuable than a known commodity like Swish.
And don’t throw your personal opinions at us like you always do, show me some statistical data or any kind of credible truth behind your statements. Show me why Swisher is a poor defensive outfielder (which he isn’t), show me the data of your new statistic of “hungry players” and why they’re better than non-hungry players (whoever they are, and don’t lay down “everybody knows players play better during their contract year!), and tell me where two unknown draft picks are more valuable than keeping a talent like Swish.
Once again, show some proof without going on a ridiculous rant of biased opinions. I’ll gladly agree with your statements and tell you you’re right if you can prove either of these three.
haha woops, i meant three things. i can count, i promise.
~~Nick Swisher doesn’t play the corner outfield well,~~
FWIW, I once believed this – and the stats proved me wrong.
i also meant one draft pick, i’m all screwed up today.
~~It may be better news for Don Mattingly.~~
If Mex Hernandez doesn’t get in, there’s no way Donnie ever does…
If Mex Hernandez doesn’t get in, there’s no way Donnie ever does…
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Don’t underestimate the power of sentiment, especially if Rice gets in. Hernandez is off the ballot, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Veterans Committee votes him in a few years from now.
~~Nick Swisher doesn’t play the corner outfield well,~~
“FWIW, I once believed this – and the stats proved me wrong.”
It’s ok Steve, I once thought Swish was a good defensive 1b until you proved me wrong.
Straight up question for Yankee fans of the appropriate age:
How did you view Rice during his career?
~~How did you view Rice during his career?~~
He scared me from 1975 through 1979. Not so much from 1980 thru 1988.
“Not so much” in the modern sense of “not at all” or “not so much” in the more traditional sense of “not as much as previously”? Because Rice still ranked in the top ten or better of home runs, slugging, BA, hits many times from ’80 to ’86.
Congratulations to Rickey and Rice. I suspect Rickey’ll go in as an Athletic, and obviously Rice’ll be a Red Sox.
P.S. – if you want to discuss the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame election results, as a special treat, here – that’s O.K., today, too.
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Well, since Rickey played for the Yanks, and Rice was part of the Red Sox, who are the Yanks’ #1 rival, I’d say they both fit as water cooler entries
Jim Rice was the most feared bat in the AL for nearly a decade. He should have been in years ago, but his personality (not getting along all that well with reporters) has kept him out, until today.
Keith Hernandez was never the dominant player in the NL.
Don Mattingly was at least as agood a defensive 1st baseman as KH, and for a few years, the dominant offensive player in the AL.
Mattingly is much more deserving than Hernandez. Neither should make it though.
Rice had as much as anyone to do with my becoming a Red Sox fan, so obviously this makes me very happy. I felt Rice deserved induction based on his stats, not the whole “feared” thing, which I think ultimately muddied the waters (why so few intentional passes if he was so feared – but then again, a lot of “good” players can end up higher on the list of IBBs if they aren’t part of a deep lineup like Rice was). No one not in the Hall has 382 or more homers and a .298 career BA. That to me was the bottom line – and the fact that no one between 1960 and 2001 reached those marks. Granted I am sure there is some cherry picking of years there, but that’s also a big chunk of major league history where no one else combined power and BA like old Jim Ed did.
I can’t figure out why Tim Raines is getting such little support. Well, I can, but there’s only so many times you can say “the voters are idiots.” Henderson and Raines would’ve been a great 1-2 punch for the ceremony.
Rice took a sizable decline from 1998 to 1999, for no apparent reason except that Ryan, Brett and Yount were slam dunk candidates. My guess is that more than a few voters wanted to make a point that Raines wasn’t Henderson’s equal. Now that Rickey is in, I think we’ll see Raines votes go up. But at the same time, I could see where Raines becomes the new Rice, waiting longer than he should.