Sweet.

Ibanez > Burrell (although we still have a need for a right-handed bat).

You know what, I'm going to be rooting for the Mets this year in the NL. Cubs or Mets as the NL World Series representative.

I am not enthralled with this move for the Phillies. It's basically a push offensively (with a slight edge to Burrell) and a push defensively (with a slight edge for Ibanez). I think Burrell's money is going to be in the same financial range also. Given that one is right handed which fits the Phillie lineup to a tee and one is left handed and unbalances the Phillie lineup, I'd rather have the one who fits the lineup....

Burrell was pretty streaky, and there are some thing I think you can measure with just numbers.

If anything, Ibanez was one of "Pat's Guys". I have enough faith in that that it is an upgrade.

Hell, just look at other fans reactions to Ibanez here in this thread. He's not an MVP candidate, but if he hits consistently (which he has) and is a good fielder, he's a good addition at that price.

He's not a good fielder though. He was the second worst left fielder in baseball last year according to The Fielding Bible...I would have rather paid Burrell.

One of the local guys who has had some decent baseball source news in the past says that no team has actually offered Teixeira more than 6 years.

He said that his sources put it, in order, Red Sox, Angels, Nationals in likelihood of signing him right now. All are about comparable in terms of annual salary at the moment.

Which, if true, of course, means Boras is doing his usual hard media sell, trying to play one team off of another.

Heh, as if being a Blue Jays fan wasn't frustrating enough.

I like to torture myself. I like Minaya, Wright, Reyes, Delgado... and the setup/closer combo they have there now. And I want to see the Cubs with a World Series.

I don't think the Jays will do anything this year, so I need a team that could actually make the playoffs.

But they just signed Matt Clement!

ESPN.com reports that Yankees sign Burnett for 5 years, 82.5 million.

sportsillustrated.com (among others) is reporting that A.J. Burnett has signed with the Yankees.

$82.5m over five years seems like overpaying to me but the Yankees will probably turn a profit anyway so they won't care.

edit: beaten by seconds

Yes, and Burrell was f'in awesome at fielding.

I think an oak tree would've been a defensive upgrade out there.

It's pretty much a wash, but it's not anything more than a minor upgrade. Given that the bat is worse and from the wrong side of the plate, I'm less than thrilled.

CC and Burnett. Yanks ain't fucking around.

Yanks had plenty of room freed up by enormous expiring contracts like Giambi and Mussina so we should have expected this. I wonder if they still have enough to go after another pitcher or Teixera. I heard they may just re-sign Pettitte as a back end starter. Not sure what they're doing at 1B now with Giambi gone though.

True dat.

The 1B hole is interesting, which is why I think the Yanks really do go very hard after Tex.

I thought they swent after Swisher to fill that 1B hole, not that that would stop them from pursuing Teixeira.

My guess is they're not really interested, because I think the Boras camp would leak news of an actual Yanks' offer to the media to try to get the Sox and Halos to bump their offers.

lol - i think burnett will be pavano 2.0 and CC will eat his way to 300 sooner rather than later

Heh...just today I made that same comparison of burnett to pavano to my bro at lunch, and that was before I found out the Yanks had actually signed him.

i love the fact they paid 82mil for a guy with a 4 era last year - LOL

Well that should leave the Braves room to resign Glavine and then make a bad offer to Smoltz driving him elsewhere. Maybe we'll pick up Chan Ho Park to round out the rotation when Glavine's arm falls off after another three inning start.

I liked Burnett. :(

How come Abreu gets no love? He reminds me of Burrell, in the sense that when you look at their stats, they seem like guys you would love to have on your roster. I know stats dont always paint the full picture though. As a Mets fan, I wouldnt mind bringing Abreu in. They do need an OF, and I know his defense is pretty horrible, but a guy who is gonna hit .300, 20+HR and drive in 85-100 runs, with an OBP of 400 would be very nice to plug in the #2 whole. He knows how to work counts, which will give Reyes plenty opportunity to work his magic on the base paths, and with his high OBP it will give the Wrights, Beltrans and Delgados chance to knock him in.

I'm surprised teams don't insist on divisional non-compete clauses when they make opt-out clause offers in contracts.

I heard on the radio the other dat that Texiare was qouted as saying he "hates" Arod so I would be surpriseed if he heads there. HE seems like a better fit in Boston and the Sox need to make a move to keep up.

I do like the wishful thinking ;).

Remember people thought Beckett was going to be Pavano 2.0 ;)

not really. people were worried about beckett's blisters - which haven't really been much of a problem. burnett's injuries have been much more internal and breakdown-ish

I'm thinking you misremember the time around Beckett's trade. Blisters were a part of it, but there was plenty of talk about the fact that the guy couldn't stay healthy to save his life in Florida and in '05 he just barely pitched enough innings to have a "breakout season" to earn him a ticket out.

Or put it this way, AJ Burnett has pitched in more innings in the last 3 years with Toronto than Beckett did in his final 3 years with the Marlins. And Burnett has pitched more innings in the last 2 years than Beckett has (though Beckett has had a far better last 2 years) ;).

That's stupid though - Ibanez is an awful signing for the Phillies. At his best, he is Pat Burrell-light with the bat, worse defensively, and 4 years older. Moreover, he's a lefty, and assuming that put him with Howard and Utely, you've just set up an opposing manager's dream's LOOGY scenario (Howard essentially turns into a scrub against left handers).

To make it even stupider, instead of offering Burrell arb and him potentially accpeting (even on an expensive 1 year deal) - you didnt, and instead gave up draft choices for a 37 year old. Just all around awful decision making.

Hey, they did just win a World Series.

I won't give them crap until they actually bomb on the field next season. :)

Good riddance to you, AJ and your injuries!

Not really:

The Ultimate Headscratcher | FanGraphs Baseball




So, Ibanez is worse defensively and worse offensively. k.

He's a Philadelphian. Of course he's a pessimist. :)

Also, are these numbers adjusted via park?

As a Yankees fan I have mixed feelings on these signings. While it was clearly evident that the Yanks needed started pitching, I think they will regret the length of both Sabathia and Burnett's contract. Burnett has shown throughout his career that he will only pitch to his full potential when there is money at stake. While I don't think his tenure will mirror Pavano, I do believe he will spend plenty of time on the DL.

The Yankees are a team with many deficiencies. Their defense is simply atrocious. Picking up Swisher was a terrible move. He's expensive and can't hit his way out of a paper bag. At second base Cano won't dive for a ball at any cost. I was hoping this off season they would trade him. The way I see it the Red Sox and Rays are still ahead of the Yankees. If Boston can sign Teixeria they would have a lineup that isn't matched in the AL East.

Of course.

Say wha?

While Swisher had a poor year last season (but really came on at the end), his two prior years, in Oakland, he had OPS+ of 125 and 127.

There is no arguing his defense is excellent, but his bat is a whole other story. Here are his numbers which i'm sure you already have.

2004 .250 BA

2005 .236 BA

2006 .254 BA

2007 .262 BA

2008 .219 BA

If Swisher is an every day player at 1B for NY they're in deep trouble.

I would just back away if I were you. Issidiqui is one of the sabermetric monks, and there is no point getting into a baseball value discussion with one. ;)

:eek:

Are you familiar with the concepts of OBP and SLG and park adjusted/era adjusted OPS+?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/swishni01.shtml

2006:

.372 OBP, .493 SLG, 125 OPS+ (meaning 25% better than the average batter)

2007:

.381 OBP, .455 SLG, 127 OPS+ (27% better)


What exactly does BA matter if the OBP is so high? Did you think that Giambi had a bad year last year?!!

Yes, we have very good numbers-fu, which I'm sure is what you meant ;).

The Yankees couldn't wait to get out from under Giambi's contract. They don't pay him over 20 million to hit .247 and walk. There is no arguing with your research, I agree that OBP is an important stat. I just don't think NY can get by with Swisher as an every day player. I'm entitled to my opinion as you are. It's clear you're a big fan of the game and do your homework.

Nick Swisher's BABIP in '07 was .301 and in '08 it was .249. His huge dip in BA was mostly a fluke and is where most of his dip in value came from. Its highly unlikely that he has a sub-.250 BA again and the Yankees will probably look pretty good in this deal before its all said and done.

lmao...trust me, JT, this is a discussion going nowhere. You're talking to a one of the most intractable groupings here at FOFC. All you'll do is give yourself a headache. And Crapshoot hasn't even come by yet.

The money is a big concern, but Giambi "hitting .247 and walk" is a canard, as walking is a positive result and that ignores his power. Giambi had a .373 OBP and a .503 SLG, which resulted in an OPS+ of 128. Outside of A-Rod, Giambi had, by far, the highest SLG of any Yankee. He also only ground into double plays 6 times all year.

Hell, based on overall performance and production per dollar, he had a far better season that Jeter did. If you add defense, I'm sure it gets closer, but seeing as how Jeter isn't really a good defensive SS, probably not all that much.

But, he also is 37 and has some really bad baggage from the steroids mess, and thus time for a change.

Probably 2nd only to the pro-playoff crowd. :D

I do think there's a real, legitimate question though in an offseason where money seems to be no object that they aren't making a run at Texeria. No matter what you think of Swisher, nobody would argue he's in Texeria's league. Realistically, if you could get Texeria, you could get away with playing Swisher in CF or even as DH.

Yeah, Swisher's far better than his season with us last year suggests.

I believe the Yanks have thrown their hat into the ring. We'll see how deep they get into it... as the Angels seem to indicate that they are willing to go pretty deep... offering an 8th year today.

There's been rumors floating around the past few days that the Yankees may make a run at Teixeira if things continue to drag out with him. But yes, you take Teixeira over Swisher any day and I would have went after him instead of Sabathia.

I'm a long time lurker. Been reading the board since 2006. Lots of intelligent well thought opinions here. I look forward to being a part of it, even if I get a few bumps and scratches :cool: