Squawker Lisa, I see you've named the new Yankee pitchers Alphabet Soup because they are CC and A.J. But the Mets also introduced a new pitcher Thursday, J.J. Putz., so you can't have Alphabet Soup all to yourself. Instead, how about these soup-related nicknames for your new pitchers: Chicken Soup for the always-ailing Burnett and Souper-Size for Sabathia.
And here's a nickname for Yankee fans after they shell out for tickets to the new Yankee Stadium: Soup Kitchen.
I also had some suggestions for numbers for the new Yanks, if only these numbers were not retired. Sabathia could have worn 3 for the number of years after which he can opt out of his contract. Also, his body type is similar to the Babe's. Burnett could have worn 10, for the number of times he has been on the disabled list.
And Lisa, I'm just fine with calling Francisco Rodriguez K-Rod instead of F-Rod. After all, Dwight Gooden wasn't called Dr. G. (That would have sounded like a weatherman or a dermatologist in subway ads.)
As for Sabathia saying he got chills when telling his real estate agent that he is a Yankee, I suspect it was really the other way around!
Only the Yankees could take the two biggest signings of the free-agent season in terms of contract size and combine them into one news conference. What, they didn't want to spring for a second carving board? Even the Mets had two separate welcomes for K-Rod and Putz.
If Putz sticks with number 40 (there was a report that he might try to get 20 from Howard Johnson), that number could have a couple of meanings. 40 is the number of saves Putz had in 2007, the year he made the All-Star team. And 40 is the number of games the Mariners were under .500 in 2008, when they went 61-101, and why I believe him when he says he's happy to be a setup man for a contender.
Finally, Lisa, thanks for ruining my night by letting me know that mlb.com's "Moment of the Year" was Derek Jeter's speech after the last game played at the old Yankee Stadium.
Look, even I think it was a special day, but did the 2008 Yankees really need to take a victory lap around the Stadium? After all, it was the last game only because they were missing the playoffs after 13 straight appearances.
I suppose we shouldn't take this list all that seriously, considering that second place went to something that happened in the Home Run Derby. But as long as the voters don't seem interested in things that actually happened during a game, goodness gracious, where's Roger Clemens testifying before Congress?
Showing posts with label J.J. Putz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.J. Putz. Show all posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
On CC's rider and the Melkman delivering Mike Cameron to the Yankees
The baseball hot stove is bubbling over with a plethora of signings and trades. So there's a lot to squawk about. Let's get it started.
The latest news out of Yankeeland is that Melky Cabrera is set to go to Milwaukee for Mike Cameron. So much for the Yanks' youth movement, eh? The Bergen Record is reporting the following:
Speaking of head-scratching moves, why the Yankees are even thinking about signing A.J. Burnett is beyond me, let alone offering him $80 million, considering they've already been burned by one injury-prone former Marlin pitcher with Carl Pavano. (Of course, the Red Sox didn't get burned by their own injury-prone former Marlin pitcher, Josh Beckett, but I digress!)
It's strange times to think that I would prefer Derek Lowe to Burnett and Sheets, but I do. At least Lowe is a healthy big-game pitcher (albeit one who makes those, well, Derek Lowe faces when things go wrong!) Don't think Derek is worth a four-year, $66 million deal, though.
And yes, the numbers the Yanks are willing to shell out this year are simply mind-boggling. Given 1) the recession we're currently in, and 2) the fact that the Yanks just went back to the city of New York to beg for more cash for their stadium, I have to say that even this Yankee fan finds these contract numbers a bit unseemly and over the top. Don't mean to get all Joe Hill here, but there it is.
Oprah Winfrey toned down her yearly Favorite Things extravaganza to reflect the economic realities this country is facing. Not the Yanks. A few days ago, I thought that $10 million for Andy Pettitte was reasonable. But given the money the Bombers are willing to throw around this week, that figure now looks awfully cheap.
Am I happy the Yanks got CC Sabathia? Of course. He's a heck of a pitcher. But I am a bit concerned that they overpaid for him, given that they were essentially bidding against themselves. And his three-year opt out clause worries me - if he's already planning an escape hatch before he's even come to New York, that's a real concern. He does seem like a very likeable guy, though - hopefully he'll fit right in with the Yanks, pitch great, and all these concerns will be moot next year.
While the Yanks are on a spending spree, the Mets are making deals, like getting J.J. Putz. Congrats, Squawker Jon - your team's bullpen looks pretty awesome. And in keeping with that era of good feeling. I'm going to resist making a joke about your new reliever's last name!
I was on three radio programs over the course of 23 hours squawking about the winter meetings, and I had a terrific time on all three shows. Thanks to Dos Amigos, Sound-Off with Sinkoff, and NYBaseball Digest for having me on.
Coming later today, my thoughts on where Manny Ramirez will end up. But in the meantime, tell us what you think about all these moves.
The latest news out of Yankeeland is that Melky Cabrera is set to go to Milwaukee for Mike Cameron. So much for the Yanks' youth movement, eh? The Bergen Record is reporting the following:
On the condition of anonymity, the source said the Yankees would be willing to extend Cameron to a two-year contract through the 2010 season. The Brewers had picked up Cameron’s 2009 option for $10 million, and a two-year deal with the Yanks could be worth about $17 million total.How Melky Cabrera sunk from being one of the more pleasurable players to watch on the Yanks over the past few seasons to being the easiest out on the roster is a big mystery to me. But what's even more head-scratching is why the Yanks would even consider extending Mike Cameron's contract, given that he's nearly 36 now. Not to mention what will happen to Brett Gardner. What, exactly, is to be gained in giving Cameron another year?
Speaking of head-scratching moves, why the Yankees are even thinking about signing A.J. Burnett is beyond me, let alone offering him $80 million, considering they've already been burned by one injury-prone former Marlin pitcher with Carl Pavano. (Of course, the Red Sox didn't get burned by their own injury-prone former Marlin pitcher, Josh Beckett, but I digress!)
It's strange times to think that I would prefer Derek Lowe to Burnett and Sheets, but I do. At least Lowe is a healthy big-game pitcher (albeit one who makes those, well, Derek Lowe faces when things go wrong!) Don't think Derek is worth a four-year, $66 million deal, though.
And yes, the numbers the Yanks are willing to shell out this year are simply mind-boggling. Given 1) the recession we're currently in, and 2) the fact that the Yanks just went back to the city of New York to beg for more cash for their stadium, I have to say that even this Yankee fan finds these contract numbers a bit unseemly and over the top. Don't mean to get all Joe Hill here, but there it is.
Oprah Winfrey toned down her yearly Favorite Things extravaganza to reflect the economic realities this country is facing. Not the Yanks. A few days ago, I thought that $10 million for Andy Pettitte was reasonable. But given the money the Bombers are willing to throw around this week, that figure now looks awfully cheap.
Am I happy the Yanks got CC Sabathia? Of course. He's a heck of a pitcher. But I am a bit concerned that they overpaid for him, given that they were essentially bidding against themselves. And his three-year opt out clause worries me - if he's already planning an escape hatch before he's even come to New York, that's a real concern. He does seem like a very likeable guy, though - hopefully he'll fit right in with the Yanks, pitch great, and all these concerns will be moot next year.
While the Yanks are on a spending spree, the Mets are making deals, like getting J.J. Putz. Congrats, Squawker Jon - your team's bullpen looks pretty awesome. And in keeping with that era of good feeling. I'm going to resist making a joke about your new reliever's last name!
* * *
I was on three radio programs over the course of 23 hours squawking about the winter meetings, and I had a terrific time on all three shows. Thanks to Dos Amigos, Sound-Off with Sinkoff, and NYBaseball Digest for having me on.
Coming later today, my thoughts on where Manny Ramirez will end up. But in the meantime, tell us what you think about all these moves.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Omar Minaya Putz finishing touches on new pen
In the 2007 All-Star Game, Francisco Rodriguez got the save. His setup man was fellow star closer J.J. Putz. Such dream combinations usually happen only in All-Star games. But this one is now a main feature of the 2009 Mets.
In the words of another J.J. from an old TV show: Dyn-o-mite! For Omar Minaya and the Mets, not to mention Johan Santana, who no longer has to pitch a complete game to assure himself of a win, these are certainly good times.
Getting a strong setup man was just as important as landing a top closer. With the Mets talking up budget constraints, I didn't have much hope that they could land a second good reliever, much less one who had been an All-Star closer just two seasons ago. Especially when the Mets were dangling the likes of Aaron Heilman in hopes of landing Huston Street from the Rockies.
Now the Mets, with a package featuring Heilman, have turned the bullpen from a weakness to a strength.
While Putz struggled with injuries in 2008, and, as Big League Stew points out, blew eight saves in 23 chances, he's at least as good a bet to do well next year as other available closers Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood. Over the last three seasons, Putz had 91 saves, while Fuentes had 80. And while Wood was healthy with 34 saves in 2008, he only pitched a total of 44 innings the previous two seasons.
And Putz isn't even the Mets' closer - he's the setup man! Dyn-o-mite!
I'm sorry to see Endy Chavez and Joe Smith go, and Aaron Heilman may just need a change of scenery, but the Mets didn't really give up that much at the major league level. Mike Carp and the other prospects are just that at this point - prospects.
But when Metsblog.com quoted Indians GM Mark Shapiro as saying the three-team deal came together quickly and "what I hope is that we’re all feeling good about it a year from now,” I couldn't help but think of the last time I was so excited about a trade involving the Mets and the Indians. It was one of the first moves Shapiro made as Indians GM - the December 2001 trade of Roberto Alomar to the Mets. A year later, nobody was feeling good about that one!
And as for that 2007 All-Star Game, the full story turned out to be more like the Mets' 2008 bullpen misadventures. After Putz struck out Matt Holliday and got Brian McCann to pop out, he was only one out away from a save. But Dmitri Young singled and Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer off of Putz to cut the lead to 5-4.
So K-Rod was brought in to get the final out. But he walked Derrek Lee and Orlando Hudson to load the bases before getting Aaron Rowand to fly out to end the game.
See, these guys will fit right in on the Mets!
By the way, Putz and the AL had a three-run cushion in the ninth because one of the National League All-Star closers had given up a two-run homer to Victor Martinez the inning before. And that closer was, you guessed it, Billy Wagner. (Martinez, incidentally, was pinch-hitting for Santana.)
When Wagner helped blow that All-Star game, I was angry at the time that the Mets had missed out on possible home field advantage in the World Series. They ended up not having to worry about that in 2007 or 2008. There is stil work to be done, but the way this offseason is going so far, the Mets may have good reason to take an interest in the outcome of next year's All-Star game.
In the words of another J.J. from an old TV show: Dyn-o-mite! For Omar Minaya and the Mets, not to mention Johan Santana, who no longer has to pitch a complete game to assure himself of a win, these are certainly good times.
Getting a strong setup man was just as important as landing a top closer. With the Mets talking up budget constraints, I didn't have much hope that they could land a second good reliever, much less one who had been an All-Star closer just two seasons ago. Especially when the Mets were dangling the likes of Aaron Heilman in hopes of landing Huston Street from the Rockies.
Now the Mets, with a package featuring Heilman, have turned the bullpen from a weakness to a strength.
While Putz struggled with injuries in 2008, and, as Big League Stew points out, blew eight saves in 23 chances, he's at least as good a bet to do well next year as other available closers Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood. Over the last three seasons, Putz had 91 saves, while Fuentes had 80. And while Wood was healthy with 34 saves in 2008, he only pitched a total of 44 innings the previous two seasons.
And Putz isn't even the Mets' closer - he's the setup man! Dyn-o-mite!
I'm sorry to see Endy Chavez and Joe Smith go, and Aaron Heilman may just need a change of scenery, but the Mets didn't really give up that much at the major league level. Mike Carp and the other prospects are just that at this point - prospects.
But when Metsblog.com quoted Indians GM Mark Shapiro as saying the three-team deal came together quickly and "what I hope is that we’re all feeling good about it a year from now,” I couldn't help but think of the last time I was so excited about a trade involving the Mets and the Indians. It was one of the first moves Shapiro made as Indians GM - the December 2001 trade of Roberto Alomar to the Mets. A year later, nobody was feeling good about that one!
And as for that 2007 All-Star Game, the full story turned out to be more like the Mets' 2008 bullpen misadventures. After Putz struck out Matt Holliday and got Brian McCann to pop out, he was only one out away from a save. But Dmitri Young singled and Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer off of Putz to cut the lead to 5-4.
So K-Rod was brought in to get the final out. But he walked Derrek Lee and Orlando Hudson to load the bases before getting Aaron Rowand to fly out to end the game.
See, these guys will fit right in on the Mets!
By the way, Putz and the AL had a three-run cushion in the ninth because one of the National League All-Star closers had given up a two-run homer to Victor Martinez the inning before. And that closer was, you guessed it, Billy Wagner. (Martinez, incidentally, was pinch-hitting for Santana.)
When Wagner helped blow that All-Star game, I was angry at the time that the Mets had missed out on possible home field advantage in the World Series. They ended up not having to worry about that in 2007 or 2008. There is stil work to be done, but the way this offseason is going so far, the Mets may have good reason to take an interest in the outcome of next year's All-Star game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)