Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Yanks To Finalize Off-Season Plans Thursday

From Ed Price:

Yankees management will confer Thursday, on the eve of the open free-agency period, to finalize their plans for offseason shopping.

"We're going to be ready for Friday (the first day teams can discuss financial terms with outside free agents)," co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said today.

"Decisions haven't completely been made yet," Steinbrenner said. "We're going to figure out everything by Friday. By Friday we're going to know the direction we're going. (In Thursday's meeting) we're going to decide who we're putting offers on first."

Steinbrenner said he, his brother Hank and his father George will take part in the meeting, likely by phone.

"Decisions haven't completely been made yet"? Uh, shouldn't these decisions have been made BEFORE players started being traded?

"By Friday we're going to know the direction we're going." I thought the reason for the organizational meeting that were held a couple weeks ago was to figure out the direction this team was going.

Am I the only one concerned by this? Maybe there are too many people trying to run the show to get anything done the right way. This has been the problem with this organization for a while now, and it seems, at least from this report, that it still may be a problem.

14 Comments:

Anonymous said...

good for them.

Anonymous said...

Lets see what the end result is before criticism. Hank is pissed about last years finish so I feel we can expect big things.

Mike said...

Notice we are getting more Hal and less Hank?

Greg Cohen said...

Anon,

All I'm saying is that this should have been figured out before Thursday. I just find it a bit ridiculous that they still haven't figured out what they want to do exactly.

Mike,

Yes I've noticed that, and I think it's a very good thing.

Mike B. said...

I would agree that all of this should have been figured out by now. It's a bit frustrating to hear about other teams making deals, and from the Yankees--silence. Perhaps they're waiting for the free-agent period to open before they make their first big move. Then they'll move on to trades....

At any rate, they should have had a game plan in place by now. I hope and pray it's not "business as usual" in the last couple of years sense.

Mike

Anonymous said...

Well, this is the first meeting after the GM Meetings, and more importantly, the 1st one after Cashman and Boras sat down. Maybe cash has a better sense of what the starting numbers will be for Lowe, Teixiera and others.

Also, could be that Cashman has other insight from the meetings.

She-Fan said...

I, too, am surprised that there's still talk of needing to figure out the direction of the team. I thought they'd come roaring out of the gate after last season and I wrote as much on my blog today. Hal strikes me as more of a plodder, with Hank being the guy who pops off at will. But surely Cashman has a plan by now - and a budget???

Anonymous said...

I think thereÅ› a plan...they are just not saying anything...at least I hope...

Anonymous said...

Memo to the owners-

please dont sign anymore bums. We had enough. lets get some guys that will be excited to wear the pinstripes(unlike arod)

Anonymous said...

Hank was just talking about the team in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago.

I noticed Hank only talks in his sporting news column or in the newspapers. I dont ever remember him doing a radio or tv interview ever.

Hal is always the one doing the press conferences

Anonymous said...

>>>"Decisions haven't completely been made yet"? Uh, shouldn't these decisions have been made BEFORE players started being traded?<<<

They can't make decisions yet. They don't know what Mussina wants to do, first of all. The only trades that have taken place are ones that the Yankees wouldn't or shouldn't have been involved in. Holliday, as much as people like him, was not on my want list.

As for any other trades, they're all minor, and I think most teams are far from making decisions on how to proceed yet.

Also, it's not like Cashman has his phone off until things get decided. If an offer or offers are on the table to Cash, I guarantee he'd bring it forth and they'd decide then if it's a move they wanted to make.

I think the "moves" that they're talking about are in terms of free agents, and at this point free agents from other teams can't be signed yet. So there's no point in deciding to sign Teixeira or Sabathia or anyone until the time comes that they can.

Everyone knows the Yankees will be a potential player in every major trade or free agent signing. Teams will NOT proceed without first seeing if the Yankees have any interest. My guess is that they already decided that Holliday was not a potential direction they wanted to take, and told the Rockies as much already.

Greg Cohen said...

I just think they should be a bit more prepared than they seem to be. To say they aren't sure what direction they're going in with two days until free agency begins is slightly ridiculous.

And this is the second year in a row they have a pitcher holding them hostage, last year it was Pettitte, this year it's Mussina. Mussina better come to a decision before Friday.

Mike B. said...

You durn right! Mussina had better let us know pronto. If not, I say the heck with him. I've got a thing about being held hostage by a pitcher who.... Oh, never mind.

Mike

Anonymous said...

The fact that Moose hasn't publically made his decision yet leads me to believe he's either planning on coming back or at least on the fence about it. If he knew for sure he was going to retire, I don't think he'd leave the team hanging like this.