2021-2022 Off Season Thread

[NelsonMuntz]

What "best stars" are on the Yankees? Just off the top of my head, none of the 10-20 or so elite players in the league are on the roster of the sport's biggest franchise. There is no one on a Trout, Betts, Acuna, Soto or DeGrom level. No one is even really close.

Stanton, Judge, Cole. Maybe Chapman before last season. Otherwise it's a lot of Cashman specials.

[ThePinStripes]

I would argue they're not really putting the "best stars on stage". Other than Stanton, Judge, and Cole there really are no "stars" on this team. They passed on Harper and Machado, and have yet to show interest in any of the elite free agent shortstops despite it being a position of need. Their biggest position player free agent signing since Ellsbury was LeMahieu.

3 stars is pretty good. The problem is that it doesn't go much further than them and whether Cole is even an average pitcher without sticky stuff is a huge question mark.

[Tock Ada Shot]

But Jack Benny plays a mean violin.

LOL...
...Jack once said: "I practice three hours daily on my violin so I won't get worse."

[sjb23]

IThese are not the best of times.

I guess this is a matter of perspective.

I've been a diehard Yankee fan since 1967 - that's 54 seasons (I think lol)

They've won 19 divisional titles, made 11 World Series appearances, and won 7 world championships since 1967.

So about 35% of the time they've won their division, about 20% of the time they've made it to the World Series, and about 12% of the time they've won a world championship.

I don't know if any other teams have these types of ratios - but my guess is an elite few, at best.

These are the best of times, IMO.

Can you imagine being a Pirates fan or a White Sox fan or a Twins fan or a Mets fan? I can't.....

[JDPNYY]

But Jack Benny plays a mean violin.

The Yankees would put Benny in charge of the budget.

[hhill]

Ive been a NYY fan since 1950..so 27/71 is 38% of the time, almost 40% of the time they've won it all.
Problem for you guys is I'm the only one alive for the 10 in a row or so, from 1950 on. LOL

Sorry, it all counts

[newhampfan]

Ive been a NYY fan since 1950..so 27/71 is 38% of the time, almost 40% of the time they've won it all.
Problem for you guys is I'm the only one alive for the 10 in a row or so, from 1950 on. LOL

Sorry, it all counts

I'm with you and I started rooting in 1945--what a grand ride it was, especially when Weiss was the GM in the 50s. But, to paraphrase the poet John Milton on a different topic, now we've fallen on evil days, on evil days fallen.

[sjb23]

So what is the better strategy re: trying to pry Freddy Freeman away from the Braves? 1) give him the 6yrs/$180M he's asking for, or 2) wait it out and hope they can get him for less, since 5 years seems to be everyone's holding point?

Is 5yrs/$175M a strong enough offer to make Freddy contemplate?

[Mixwell]

Saw Hal put out a statement today to congratulate NYCFC on their championship.

I don't follow soccer. Does anyone know if it was a crapshoot? I think they won on penalty kicks (which is one reason people don't watch soccer. How ridiculous is that?)

Just wondering if the only championship in over a decade brought back to Yankee Stadium is from the soccer team, if that lights the Steinbrenner in him. Probably not though. Hard to have fire when everything you have was handed to you on a silver platter rather than earned.

What a sad state of affairs for this franchise. It's like watching Scarlett Johannson age and have babies with Colin Jost.

[False1]

So what is the better strategy re: trying to pry Freddy Freman away from the Braves? 1) give him the 6yrs/$180M he's asking for, or 2) wait it out and hope they can get him for less, since 5 years seems to be everyone's holding point?

Is 5yrs/$175M a strong enough offer to make Freddy contemplate?

If he'd sign for 6/$180MM I think the Yankees should do that the very moment they can.

Why would you offer 5/$175 though? That would be an enormous overpay. Sure, a 5 year deal would be ideal but not if it only shaves 2.8% off the total cost of the hypothetical $180MM deal.

[ymike673]

I'm with you and I started rooting in 1945--what a grand ride it was, especially when Weiss was the GM in the 50s. But, to paraphrase the poet John Milton on a different topic, now we've fallen on evil days, on evil days fallen.

I am 70 and you guys make me feel like a teenager, LOL.

[sjb23]

If he'd sign for 6/$180MM I think the Yankees should do that the very moment they can.

Why would you offer 5/$175 though? That would be an enormous overpay. Sure, a 5 year deal would be ideal but not if it only shaves 2.8% off the total cost of the hypothetical $180MM deal.

Because I want him to take the 5-year deal. I don't care about the money, but in this case shaving a year off the twilight of his career is worth overpaying.
Hell, give him a $5M signing bonus. Just become The Evil Empire once again. Swoop In and steal him away. That'll get some headlines in NYC. That'll sell some tickets.

[Portbb]

I'm with you and I started rooting in 1945--what a grand ride it was, especially when Weiss was the GM in the 50s. But, to paraphrase the poet John Milton on a different topic, now we've fallen on evil days, on evil days fallen.

For fans that turn 16 today and are applying for their NYS drivers license they have no recollection of the Yankees playing a WS game, since they were 3 in 2009.

Fans turning 21 today can drink to their 1 WS memory in 2009 since they were 2 in 2003.

Not sure it’s evil days but young people have a different fan experience that’s for sure.

[Bauer]

I guess this is a matter of perspective.

I've been a diehard Yankee fan since 1967 - that's 54 seasons (I think lol)

They've won 19 divisional titles, made 11 World Series appearances, and won 7 world championships since 1967.

So about 35% of the time they've won their division, about 20% of the time they've made it to the World Series, and about 12% of the time they've won a world championship.

I don't know if any other teams have these types of ratios - but my guess is an elite few, at best.

These are the best of times, IMO.

Can you imagine being a Pirates fan or a White Sox fan or a Twins fan or a Mets fan? I can't.....

---

I began following them in 1950. Some French aristocrat once wrote (of the period prior to the French Revolution) that those born "after the revolution" will never know "what the sweetness of living was." That's how I feel about the poor Yankee fans born since ca 2005 or so. How wonderful it was to have all the guys in the neighborhood whining whenever they saw you about how the Yankees "always win everything," or "just buy people." However, no "Yankee hater" I knew ever really thought of them as anything but a team built for success and run by high-end operators like Weiss. My father, who had been a fan of the A's since 1914, had no use for the Yankees. When we talked baseball history, he was sure to remind me of the 1929-31 A's. However, he also knew that what they possessed was exceptional business practice and a general culture that took no prisoners when it came to winning.

I don't find that to be at all apparent these days. There's an article on line (Pinstripe Alley) that's highly respectful towards Joey Gallo (who seems to be a likeable guy) but that adds, "Yes, he is a great defensive outfielder and extremely underrated baserunner, but his most important tool, the bat, is an awkward fit in this current lineup." So, why add him rather than some other LH hitter who was configured better for the Stadium? Did they really need another K-Meister to go with Stanton, Judge, Sanchez, and Voit? After all, by 2021, any GM worth his salt knew that the time was coming for an agonizing reappraisal of 3-outcome baseball. How come Cash went for Joey? At post-season time, players like him are primary targets for TOR pitchers. It was a crude decision, not the kind Barrow or Weiss would make. If there's an after-life in which we can monitor events on earth, I'll be astounded if I discover that Cash has a plaque there.

Of course, in 1965, all my friends, now in their 20s, had some fun at my expense, and perhaps that showed that the era in which the intelligence (plus ownership dough) of Weiss was coming to an end. Bill Veeck once noted, at about that time, that the Yankees were showing signs of trouble (1963 and 1964 WS losses, e.g.). I read the article in a dentist's office and sneered. Couldn't happen.

[False1]

Because I want him to take the 5-year deal. I don't care about the money, but in this case shaving a year off the twilight of his career is worth overpaying.
Hell, give him a $5M signing bonus. Just become The Evil Empire once again. Swoop In and steal him away. That'll get some headlines in NYC. That'll sell some tickets.

But if this was your take why not sign him for 6 years at $180MM? You could get that 6th year or if he’s useless after 5 and only owed an incremental $5MM you could cut him for that matter. That’s a good risk/reward. Just front load the contract.