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I'm a Jays fan. I'd actually be a little bit happier if we didn't.
That was my reaction too. I clicked on the link to see if there was an interview with Silver or something but...nope.
Whenever a team comes to Toronto the visitor gets the option of
A) automatically taking 2 of 3 games
or
B) playing all 3 and aim for the sweep
In the case of A) they could just run archived games from 1989-1992 in the place of the forfeited games.
It's perfect!
I think that can only be fairly claimed of the Great Jeter. The Yankees farm system is deep in catching with Jesus Montero and Austin Romie generally considered the top 2 prospects in the system. The Yankees can only be considered to have "no plans" for replacing Andy Pettitte if you assume Phillip Hughes and Joba Chamberlain don't count because they aren't left-handed. As to Mighty Mo, he is quite simply irreplaceable, but the Yankees have had a strong overall bullpen the last few years and Mark Melancon should get his chance to set up a bit this season.
That's what I thought too, unless Silver now has a difference projection system. In fact, isn't there a "PECOTA sucks now that Silver's not around" internet meme?
One catching prospect and one non-catching prospect is "deep"?.
Montero's got a killer bat, but he's no more a catcher than I am.
Montero is still a catcher and 4 of the Yankees' top 10 prospects are catchers.
Sure, in the same way that Bobby Bonilla was a "third baseman".
That's what I thought too, unless Silver now has a difference projection system. In fact, isn't there a "PECOTA sucks now that Silver's not around" internet meme?
If I had to speculate, I'd say the issue here is that Barra just didn't realize Silver's not really involved with PECOTA anymore.
I would bet that there are not too many teams with multiple catchers in their top ten, let alone their top five prospects. I'm of the opinion that until Montero becomes a 50 passed ball/98% SB Rate catcher they should leave him back there. If his bat is anywhere close to what it's being predicted I can't imagine he is bad enough to offset that.
I'd agree. From what I remember, the last catcher to put up the sort of numbers Montero did at that age and level was Carlos Delgado. I think that most teams would be willing to put up with some fairly horrible defense at the position, if it means they can get HoF quality offense in return.
Maybe so. The Pirates were plenty successful with Bonilla at third, and it's not like Montero would be replacing a defensive whiz back there.
Though with catchers, of course, you also have the question of whether the defensive beating the position inflicts will allow them to reach their ideal offensive ceiling. Maybe Delgado wouldn't have hit like Delgado if he'd been left behind the plate.
Is this the same Pirates team that didn't make the playoffs until they moved "Ear-Plugs" off third, and replaced him with Jeff King?
Ah yes... those halcyon days when the Rangers had such great catching depth and at least one of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Max Ramirez, and Taylor Teagarden would lock up the starting job for years to come.
Everything they're saying about Montero is exactly what was said about Delgado when he came up - oh, he's big, but he can still get around okay, his throwing arm isn't that good but it'll get better. I don't think any catching prospect in major league history that had noted defensive problems in the minors ever stuck with catching in the majors. Piazza, maybe.
Tyler Flowers supposedly took some big steps forward on defense during the 2009 season. The White Sox weren't sure he'd stick at catcher when they acquired him, but now the plan seems to be to make him the starting catcher by Opening Day 2011.
And Yogi Berra. He was horrible behind the plate until coached by Bill Dickey starting in '48 or '49. What, a 20-year-old catcher can't improve his defense to at least Posadian levels?
And he became a great defender, not just passable.
I doubt many posters here are qualified to rate Montero's chance of playing significant MLB innings at catcher. He's only 20 years old, he could certainly get better. The Berra comparison is apt since Yogi was used sparingly and played about a third of his games in LF in 1947 & 48. When Stengel came in, he made Yogi the catcher, and Bill Dickey (as Yogi would put it) "learned" him the position.
Here's what Kevin Goldstein said on BP this spring:
BEST. SHAPE. OF. HIS. LIFE.
All the Yankees really need is to improve his defense enough to delay the move to 1B until the Teixeira contract is up.
He doesn't have to catch 130 games to be useful behind the plate - assuming the bat lives up to expectations. For his first few seasons, he could catch 30 to 50 games, play mostly at DH, and backup Teixiera a few games, while also being available to pinch hit. That'd be more than enough to justify a roster spot.
Correlation does not imply causation. With Bonilla at third, the Pirates went from 64 wins to 80 to 85 and a second-place finish. Then they moved him off the position to make room for the #1 overall pick in the draft from '86.
Bobby wasn't the thing holding those teams back.
Posada is signed through 2011. The ideal would probably be: 2010 Sept. call up, 2011 job share with Posada (50-60 games caught plus 50-60 at DH), 2012 80 Gs at C (sharing with Posada or Cervelli), 60-70 Gs at DH. 2013-16 80-90 Gs at C, 50-60 Gs at DH/1B phasing towards 1B as Teixeira ages , 2017 take over 1B.
They'll do what they always do. Package up some minor league roster filler with a really big check and buy however many All-Stars they think they need at the deadline.
Which is, of course, vulgar, unless done every once in a while. Then its tolerable.
When was the last time they actually did this? Abreu?
As #12 noted, most teams would love to have Hughes or Chamberlain as their fifth starter, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them both in the Yankees rotation at some point this season. Not to mention they're both a hell of a lot closer to becoming what Andy Pettitte is than Montero/Romine is to becoming what Posada is, or whoever the hell their top SS prospect is to becoming Jeter.
HGH.
The Cubs have the curse of the goat. The Yankees have the blessing of Don Mattingly, who suffered through aging so that others would not have to.
*checking to see how good my memory is*
BPro 2010 Annual Cover
So Nate Silver sold the PECOTA franchise to his successors at BP. The McDonald's brothers are long gone from that burger and fry program, yet their initial name still lives on.
Joe Mauer would look great in pinstripes.
I saw Carlos play at Myrtle Beach in A ball several times. He was a disaster behind the plate.
Would anyone take Nate seriously if he said "My simulations show that the average seat gain for the GOP in November as of now is 2.8 seats. However, that totally doesn't look right, so, uh, how about 3.6 seats? That sounds better?" He's lose his creds in about 10 seconds.
This guy was a Yankee prospect who looked pretty grim... thank you... I'll be here all week.
Other than a couple of exceptions (Bernie for example) I think this pretty accurate. I think the Yanks have shown themselves to be fairly adept at evaluating which post-30 position players age well.
OK, I'll bite.
How, if you care to venture a guess, do you think they may be doing this? How much was mere dumb luck? Not snark.
I think they have a few attributes that they look for. I think flexibility is one of those attributes. Even their slow and unathletic players (like Matsui, Posada and Giambi) have been pretty flexible.
But I'm also perfectly willing to accept it might just be dumb luck and that eventually they'll pick up a few guys who don't age all that well. But at the least, they've had a pretty good run the last few years.
I doubt it has very much to do with selecting players who will age well. It's more that they create an atmosphere that causes players to age well, whether that's through proper training, rest, conditioning, or whatever.
That could definitely be it too.
The rings peel off age like waters from the Fountain of yore; why, Yogi Berra is no less than 112 years old and I saw him running sprints with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson just this week.
Not saying the Yanks don't have their share of ragers (hi Robbie Cano!), but I think they're low relative to other squads.
Yogi will be 85 this year, and he must have great genes. When he was a young ballplayer, the most lasting image of him I have was a ubiquitous photograph of him sitting on a clubhouse stool, with a cigarette in one hand and a comic book in the other.
Well, he's 20, so he'd better be. My shape kept improving until I was 26 or so. And then ...
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