depressedfan

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  rebelredsox said December 18, 2006

  Gotta agree with you on this one. Melky's a good player already, and is only going to get better. And giving him up for an NL reliever who's never played in the pressure cooker AL East? Sketchy move.

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  Todd21 said December 18, 2006

  Are you really this upset about losing Melky Cabrera? The guy projects as a 15-20 homer guy who will play excellent defense. Unfortunately, 15-20 homers in a corner outfield spot does not cut it on a conteding team, and certainly not in New York. He played well this year, and his trade value is as high as it will ever be. The Yankees need to stockpile some depth in their bullpen so Torre doesn't use the same guy every night and have them be burned out come playoff time. This deal makes a ton of sense.

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  depressedfan said December 18, 2006

  He's a 15-20 homer guy right now, at 22. Look at the other 2 corner outfielders the Yanks have, Matsui and Abreu, are you going to pencil in either of them for more than 15-20 hrs? Melky has the ability to be a guy that hits .300, w/ a .400 obp. You don't throw away 22 year-olds with that type of potential, especially guys that have shown it in the big leagues, for NL relievers.
  
  I'm not saying they couldn't use Gonzalez, maybe they could, although I think you can't count on pitchers coming from the NL to the AL, ever. Melky is too high a price to pay for this guy. Melky should be on the untouchable list for the Yanks, they need to focus on youth.

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    Todd21 replied December 18, 2006

    He is not a 15-20 homerun guy now. He is a 7 homerun guy at 22 (over 460 ab's). His ceiling is 15-20 in a season. Left handed relievers like Gonzalez don't come around very often. He strikes out more than a batter an inning and has posted ERA's of 1.25 over 43.1 IP, 2.70 over 50 IP, and 2.17 over 54 IP. There is not another left handed setup man in the Major Leagues putting up numbers like that. If you ask me, its the Pirates who are the crazy ones here. Its not sexy to trade a good prospect for a middle reliever, buts that how the Yankees are going to get back to the WS.
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      depressedfan replied December 18, 2006

      The Pirates wouldn't even be getting Melky, they'd be getting Laroche. Gonzalez also had a whip of 1.35 and 31 walks in 54 innings last year. Both numbers you cannot live with in a guy that's going to be a setup man. I'm more concerned with the Yanks beyond this year than I am in getting back to the WS this year. They can't keep mortgaging the future for this year, it hasn't worked over the past 6 years and their core just keeps getting older.
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  Roger_Dorn said December 18, 2006

  The problem with Gonzalez is that he's never been healthy for a full season. If you could pencil him in for 60+ appearances, I'd do this deal in a second. As is, you can probably pencil him in for a visit to Dr. James Andrews within the next few seasons. Melky will probably be a very serviceable player for a number of years, but he'll never be great and the Yankees desperately need bullpen help. A dominating lefy out of the pen is a very valuable commodity. They can afford to let an outfielder go for the right deal.

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    depressedfan replied December 18, 2006

    I don't have a problem with the Yanks trading an outfielder, as long as that outfielder is named Matsui.
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      Todd21 replied December 19, 2006

      All this backlash against Matsui, I don't understand it. He got hurt last year. Before then, he was always good for .300, 25-30 homers, 100 rbi, 100 runs scored. He is also the only consistent hitter the Yanks have had in the postseason outside of Jeter. If you want to put him on the block, you will have many suitors. But it would make no sense to do so.
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  rayj0101 said December 18, 2006

  Who cares what the Yanks do now, lets just hope they dont buy Cabrerra off the Marlins.

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  samuelraphael said December 19, 2006

  Melky will probably play 120 games this year (Damon, Matsui, and Abreu all need days off, plus DH), and most importantly, will keep Bernie Williams out of the outfield, where he is probably the biggest defensive liability in sports.
  
  That being said, Melky is worth a guy who could become a primary set-up guy, but projecting relievers is as impossible as turning a bagel into steak.

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    Todd21 replied December 19, 2006

    I don't think Bernie is going to make the team this year. As for the relievers, Gonzalez has great stuff, and outside of the injuries, a decent track record. Since Melky won't be a starter, I think the move has to be made.
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      depressedfan replied December 19, 2006

      He should be a starter. That's the major problem here. If anything, Matsui should be learning to play first this offseason to clear the spot for Matsui in left.
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        depressedfan replied December 19, 2006

        ...clear the spot for Cabrera in left.
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  Jack said December 19, 2006

  The ERA of the Yanks bullpen was 8th in the AL last year. That's simply not going to cut it. Prior to the injury, Matsui was the most dependable guy on the team next to Jeter. Abreu and Damon are table setters and combined they have an all-star outfield and one of the best in baseball. Despite being injury prone, adding a dominant 28 year old lefty reliever to the Yanks bullpen by dumping a backup OF is a no-brainer move.

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    depressedfan replied December 19, 2006

    He shouldn't be a backup outfielder, he should be starting in left. Matsui is a liability in the outfield, the Yanks will be better off defensively with Cabrera in left and Matsui at first, and they will be much better off offensively with Cabrera in the lineup rather than Andy Phillips, Josh Phelps or Doug Mientkiewicz. Not to mention the fact that they wouldn't be giving away a young player who could be a part of the core going forward for an unknown quantity to hopefully fill a temporary need.