Off Season Thread- 2022-2023

[rrzubnyy]

I don't think the eye test can tell you who can or can't play in NYC. I think once here, the eye test can certainly help assess that.
Randy Johnson passed every eye test you could have and he stunk in NY. He had every bit of mental makeup and work ethic, a great pitcher needed. He just couldn't handle the NY spotlight. Even his, NY eye test, showed he had drive. He just didn't perform up to his billing.
Kevin Brown was similar.
Pavano was soft. That was clear from the eye test.

The eye test can show if a player has fire and drive. If that is the sole aspect of mental make up to which you refer, then yes. The eye test can show the makeup of a player.

Clown, I knew RJ wouldn’t make it on Day 1.

Don’t you remember the press following him on the streets of NY on that first day and he was so uptight and yelled at them?

I knew right there he was toast and he hadn’t even thrown a first pitch with NY. This was still in the winter when they first announced the trade. RJ knew right there at that moment that he couldn’t make any mistakes as the media would be asking why did you have a bad game. Some people no matter how talented they are do not like certain kind of pressures. He was never relaxed in NY. I know he could handle pressure playoff games but when you put on the pinstripes the pressure is turned way up whether it is an April game or an even more pressurized Oct game.


And yes, that is the makeup I’m talking about. Maybe Volpe is a notch ahead of Peraza? Or that is how they feel…

[rrzubnyy]

I don't think it's as simple as some guys can perform in NY while others can't. I mean: what did you really expect out of Johnson's age 41 and 42 seasons? The Yankees still got 430+ innings and 7.3 fWAR out of him. That's a fairly productive starting pitcher.

I think it's best to use a combination of analytics and "eye test". I'd also say that every team does this very thing.

He was not the same pitcher once he came to NY.

And I realize he was in his 40s. But his numbers were not as good. But the media doesn’t care how old you are. When you are in NY and you are a big name you have to perform up to those expectations or the media and fans will crush you. RJ got booed more in a month as a Yankees than he ever had with Seattle. In Seattle when he had a poor game and walked off the field it was just church mouse quiet. That didn’t happen in NY and then afterwards he had 15 different newspapers he had to answer to. How many in Seattle?

And his Yankee postseason games? Again, he was counted on as the ACE and he performed poorly.

[Kinkotheclown]

Clown, I knew RJ wouldn’t make it on Day 1.

Don’t you remember the press following him on the streets of NY on that first day and he was so uptight and yelled at them?

I knew right there he was toast and he hadn’t even thrown a first pitch with NY. This was still in the winter when they first announced the trade. RJ knew right there at that moment that he couldn’t make any mistakes as the media would be asking why did you have a bad game. Some people no matter how talented they are do not like certain kind of pressures. He was never relaxed in NY. I know he could handle pressure playoff games but when you put on the pinstripes the pressure is turned way up whether it is an April game or an even more pressurized Oct game.


And yes, that is the makeup I’m talking about. Maybe Volpe is a notch ahead of Peraza? Or that is how they feel…

Mush. That wasn't day 1. Tell me when he signed, you thought he would bust. That is day 1.
I agree. The day he set foot in NYC after signing and was yelling cat reporters, was a serious, "uh-oh"

I would say that from what I have read, yes. Volpe has a very good IQ when it comes to the game. He also has a tremendous work ethic. Whether it is so much better than Peraza that it makes Volpe a better SS? I don't think so but who knows.

[drt1010]

Clown was on the money.

Yankees’ Brian Cashman can see Aaron Hicks starting after ‘efforts’ to get outfielder
By Dan Martin
January 22, 2023 4:50pm Updated

Cashman said Hicks is fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered during the postseason and they are hopeful he can find the form he showed before the Yankees signed him to what’s been an ill-fated seven-year, $70 million extension.

“I suspect he will be the guy that emerges [in left field] because he is still really talented and everything is there,” Cashman said Sunday on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. “Hopefully we can get the Aaron Hicks we know is in there back as a consistent player for us.”

https://nypost.com/2023/01/22/yankee...ng-as-starter/

[Kinkotheclown]

Clown was on the money.

Yankees’ Brian Cashman can see Aaron Hicks starting after ‘efforts’ to get outfielder
By Dan Martin
January 22, 2023 4:50pm Updated

Cashman said Hicks is fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered during the postseason and they are hopeful he can find the form he showed before the Yankees signed him to what’s been an ill-fated seven-year, $70 million extension.

“I suspect he will be the guy that emerges [in left field] because he is still really talented and everything is there,” Cashman said Sunday on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. “Hopefully we can get the Aaron Hicks we know is in there back as a consistent player for us.”

https://nypost.com/2023/01/22/yankee...ng-as-starter/

DOc, I have said this many times. Hicks will have a season of 250/320/ 700OPS and hit 15hrs and Cashman will sing his praises to the heavens. "We knew he could be this type of player..." That type of BS.

Cashman is effectively exonerated if Hicks has a mediocre season.

The F'd up part is that he's even on the team after his comments and meltdown. It's funny how the "Yankee way" has morphed into the acceptance of whiny, punk behaviors. Hicks should have been released after that escapade. Instead, he will be rewarded and applauded for his, commitment and growth.
All while having a season that is middling.

[hugepatsfan]

I just think it’s a waste of time to get hyped up over public comments. It’s all coach/GM speak. I don’t put much stock in any of it.

Hicks was on the team last year. They glued his *** to the bench to end the year. They can hype him up all the want in the media. Some of that is managing each players personality. Some is trying to play possum with trade partners. You look over time and often there’s no direct correlation between what they say and what they do.

Everyone here is nervous they’ll play IKF over the young SSs because they’ve done that in their history, even if they say they’re open to the young guys. But I’m supposed to freak out that they say they’ll play Hicks even if the most recent history is that they benched him for Cabrera? Someone reconcile those two things.

My blood pressure just can’t handle the ups and downs of reacting to what people who have vested interest in lying or exaggerating the truth say.

[drt1010]

Imo part of the hype may be an attempt by Cash to increase value. He may try to get some salary relief. He had a taker last season. Hicks is relatively cheap compared to market.

[Kinkotheclown]

I just think it’s a waste of time to get hyped up over public comments. It’s all coach/GM speak. I don’t put much stock in any of it.

Hicks was on the team last year. They glued his *** to the bench to end the year. They can hype him up all the want in the media. Some of that is managing each players personality. Some is trying to play possum with trade partners. You look over time and often there’s no direct correlation between what they say and what they do.

Everyone here is nervous they’ll play IKF over the young SSs because they’ve done that in their history, even if they say they’re open to the young guys. But I’m supposed to freak out that they say they’ll play Hicks even if the most recent history is that they benched him for Cabrera? Someone reconcile those two things.

My blood pressure just can’t handle the ups and downs of reacting to what people who have vested interest in lying or exaggerating the truth say.

Lol. So true


My biggest hope is actually that they do roll with Hicks and IKF and both of those guys, stink and they are forced to go with youth.
Because if they go with youth and there is even a tiny falter, they will likely rush back to those two and talk about the rookie not being ready, when in reality, they just don't have the patience to let a kid learn.

[hugepatsfan]

Another key factor is how long of a leash they give Donaldson. Let’s say IKF comes out on fire in spring training and legitimately wins the job. But what if Donaldson sucks for the first month of the season? Would they bite the bullet and DFA him that early? Then you could move IKF over to 3B (where he’s won a gold glove) and insert Peraza at SS while keeping DJ in a utility guy role. And you know the team would love squeezing an extra year out of control on Peraza in this scenario.

It’s tougher for me to see any justification in playing games with Hicks over Cabrera in LF. They already made the switch there when the stakes were highest last year. Cabrera has already had success at the ML level. It would be very, very difficult for me to accept any scenario where Hicks is starting over him unless he looks PHENOMENAL in spring training to where you just can’t deny him.

[spliff(TONE)]

I just think it’s a waste of time to get hyped up over public comments. It’s all coach/GM speak. I don’t put much stock in any of it.

Hicks was on the team last year. They glued his *** to the bench to end the year. They can hype him up all the want in the media. Some of that is managing each players personality. Some is trying to play possum with trade partners. You look over time and often there’s no direct correlation between what they say and what they do.

Everyone here is nervous they’ll play IKF over the young SSs because they’ve done that in their history, even if they say they’re open to the young guys. But I’m supposed to freak out that they say they’ll play Hicks even if the most recent history is that they benched him for Cabrera? Someone reconcile those two things.

My blood pressure just can’t handle the ups and downs of reacting to what people who have vested interest in lying or exaggerating the truth say.

^^^^

[Kinkotheclown]

I just think it’s a waste of time to get hyped up over public comments. It’s all coach/GM speak. I don’t put much stock in any of it.

Hicks was on the team last year. They glued his *** to the bench to end the year. They can hype him up all the want in the media. Some of that is managing each players personality. Some is trying to play possum with trade partners. You look over time and often there’s no direct correlation between what they say and what they do.

Everyone here is nervous they’ll play IKF over the young SSs because they’ve done that in their history, even if they say they’re open to the young guys. But I’m supposed to freak out that they say they’ll play Hicks even if the most recent history is that they benched him for Cabrera? Someone reconcile those two things.

My blood pressure just can’t handle the ups and downs of reacting to what people who have vested interest in lying or exaggerating the truth say.

You answered it yourself. They have a habit of doing it. They will always afford the vet the opportunity and make it absolute hell, for a kid to break in and play.
There is no reconciliation. They just, do it and we either watch and get angry or stop rooting for them

[Kinkotheclown]

Hicks
“As of right now, I feel the more I play, the better I’m gonna play,” Hicks said at the time. “That’s not what’s going on right now. Things are tough in New York. I don’t have an answer. If they feel this isn’t the right fit for me, that’s their call. If I do go to another team, I know I can help them win.”

Cashman-
“I suspect he will be the guy that emerges [in left field] because he is still really talented and everything is there,” Cashman said Sunday on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. “Hopefully we can get the Aaron Hicks we know is in their back as a consistent player for us.”

Does he mean the whiny, underachieving douche nozzle? That's a gimme. Or does he mean the guy who once, in 2018, had a good season?

[dayners81]

Players and their stats is like picking a stock in the market. You may see terrific prior performance of that stock but nothing is guaranteed from past performances, there are other factors involved that sway numbers.

And that is what some people see with regards to Peraza and Volpe.

Volpe probably has the better mental makeup than Peraza. His(Peraza)minor glove at SS may not be the same in the majors because his mental makeup may affect him. Both players obviously had slumps in the minors with the bat. Did it affect their defense? How is a batting slump in the majors going to affect them? What about the NY media? How will they react during tough questions? Do we know how they are when they first come to the Stadium prior to a game? How is their mood? Are they affected by outside issues? Do issues outside that nobody knows about affect their play? From what I hear Volpe has what it takes to play in NY. I’m not saying Peraza doesn’t but why do they put Volpe in the golden child category? A flashy glove at SS and a terrific range doesn’t cut it. There are more factors involved that we don’t know about with Volpe and Peraza.

Sure the perfect world suggests Peraza at SS and Volpe at 2nd or 3rd. But a perfect world doesn’t exists.

You do realize it works the same way for both players, right? The only thing Volpe does better than Peraza is hit for more power right now. Peraza gets higher exit velos and overall his tools grade better.

You are judging Peraza's bat based on 3 playoff AB's when he hadn't played in two weeks, yet choose to overlook the fact he hit over .300 in his first taste of MLB ball.

Cashman himself has said recently that Volpe is starting to be viewed as a 2nd baseman and that will probably be his best position at the MLB level.

We've already seen a preview of Peraza in the MLB and he didn't disappoint on either side of the ball.

We have zero clue how Volpe will do at the same level. He sure didn't play well in AAA, striking out well over 30% of the time.

Just because Volpe was labeled the golden child doesn't mean he is. How is he going to handle all the pressure the Yanks have put on him? he's nothing like Jeter tools wise and if fans are expecting him to be that, they are severely miss informed about Volpe and naïve.

Think of the labels analyst have put on our specs, Man-ban was Santana 2.0, Devi was the next coming of Pedro, Dom is Jackson/Trout/ Mantle, Volpe is the next Jeter, Jones is a LHed Judge. Putting HOF type comps on young kids is just flat silly, yet there are people that wonder why we are disappointed with the outcome of our prospects.

[dayners81]

so the Twins are getting CFer Michael A Taylor from KC. This adds to an already very crowded OF, with Buxton and Gallo already there, Kepler is expected to be traded.

I could still see IKF going for Kepler. IKF could fill in the hole left by trading Arraez

[goingfor28]

IKF for Gallo!

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