Phil Allard’ s “The 10th Inning Journal” Today
Posted by Steve L. on February 2nd, 2009 · Comments (7)
Phil Allard, in his 10th Inning Journal at WCBS NEWSRADIO 880 is featuring an interview with me today. Click here to read it.
My thanks to Phil for his interest and kind words about WasWatching.com!
Since Ted Lilly was traded — and only counting the years he was in the AL with Oakland and Toronto — he’s gone 51-45 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.
You consider THAT to be one of Cashman’s greatest mistakes? Trading THAT for a younger pitcher that every single scout considered to be a #1/#2 caliber starter?
Ted Lilly is a fine pitcher, don’t get me wrong. His success in the NL the past two years notwitsthanding, I just don’t see why you cause such a fuss over him all the time. Ted Lilly is nothing special. Jeff Weaver, at one time, was very special. It’s a slam-dunk to trade Lilly (and two guys that never made it) for a front-line starter. You do that every time. Frankly, I’d have been furious with Cashman if he HADN’T made that trade.
I’ll put it in this way: imagine if the Yanks had cashed in on Kennedy’s 2007 MiLB season (and MLB debut) by trading him to San Francicsco for Matt Cain. I think all Yankee fans would’ve been thrilled that they traded a good (but perhaps slightly overrated) young pitcher for a guy that had begun to establish himself as a front-end starter. Then imagine Cain came here and sucked complete crap.
The fact that Cain would suck wouldn’t have made the trade wrong. You ALWAYS reach for the best avialable talent if you can get it and it only costs you a back-end rotation arm.
I covered the whole Lilly thing here last September:
http://waswatching.com/2008/09/16/the-curse-of-ted-lilly/
good interview steve, agree with most of what you said. the one issue i take is with your premise that had brian cashman been doing his job developing the farm, the yankees’ wouldn’t have been in the position they were in this off-season. first, the yankees were not in a position. the world came to an end last year, and we won 89 games. we could have made “smaller” acquisitions (like any team does…say get pat burrell and jon garland), gotten healthy, stayed healthy, and made the playoffs in 2009. the yankees did what they did this off-season because they can, and they should. which brings me to my second point. you can have the best GM, scouting department, and player development department in the game, and you will still only develop a cc or a teixeira once in a blue moon. we are talking top 5 or top 10 talents on their side of the ball. there are only so many of these guys. the yankees have the resources, so why not? the yankees didn’t make these signings because they absolutely, positively, needed to. they did because they could (and knew how much it would help). it gives them a much higher probability of being good. and that’s why they did it.
I covered the whole Lilly thing here last September:
http://waswatching.com/2008/09/16/the-curse-of-ted-lilly/
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I remember it well.
Congrats Steve.
Thanks Patrick.