There remains one final major move for the Yankees to make...First of all, the Yankees do not need flexibility with Joba, OK? He's a starting pitcher, and unless he injures himself again, he's staying there.The Yankees are waiting on Andy Pettitte, but there is another lefty available at basically Pettitte dollars and that's Oliver Perez. Signing Perez would cement the Yankees' rotation for years to come and would give them flexibility with Joba Chamberlain.
"Putting Perez on the Yankees would be a great move," says one top pitching evaluator. "That would be the perfect environment for him. He would be more focused there. He needs strong leadership around him, and pitching in front of a packed house, he would not be complacent."
Perez is 5-1 against the Yankees lifetime. He takes those games as a challenge and he attacks. Because he already has six full seasons under his belt and has had his share of ups and downs, people forget Perez is just 27. Opposing hitters batted only .234 last season against him. Walks, of course, have been his downfall. There is no excuse for his ridiculous 105 walks, the most in the majors. In eight of his 34 starts last season, Perez surrendered five or more walks.
That has to change. The previous season, he walked 79.
Second, what a pitcher does against the Yankees has nothing to do with what they will do FOR the Yankees. I've always hated the idea of bringing in players just because they beat you. I fear that was a major reason why the Yankees gave Burnett the deal they did, and I hope that doesn't come back to bite them.
As for Perez, his walk numbers scare me, and besides two good years - '04 and '07 - he really hasn't done anything special pitching in the NL. In fact, he's been pretty awful. So why should the Yankees believe he will be any better in the AL? If anything he'll be worse. He's also never thrown more than 200 innings in a season and the one thing the Yankees need right now is a pitcher who can eat up innings, a workhorse. You know, someone like Andy Pettitte.
Giving Pettitte oneyear or even letting Phil Hughes get a chance makes a lot more sense to me than giving Perez a long-term deal.
What do you guys think about this?
23 Comments:
I have a mild interest in Perez. if he becomes rediculuosly cheap than maybe. he does good in big spots and he's a hard throwing lefty, which makes me alittle interested. on the other hand Ben Sheets is still out there, and he's better than Perez, and would be cheaper and a shorter contract.
I still would rather have Pettitte be the number 5, but if he doesnt want to sign with us for $10 million, than forget about him. Also after what Aceves did for us at the end of last year, I wouldn't mind having him start the season as the number 5, which would give Hughes even more time to develop.
I don't want Sheets. Too much risk and we've already got Burnett to worry about in terms of injuries. I'd rather give Hughes/Aceves a try if Pettitte doesn't sign.
It's really a shame, Sheets may have the best stuff of any pitcher who was on the market this year. If he can stay healthy, whatever team that signs him is really getting a bargain. But as we know that's a huge if. And like She-Fan said that's a risk I don't think the Yankees can afford to take right now with the other injury concerns on the staff.
Why would the Yankees sign Perez and have every spot in the rotation blocked?
No young pitcher in the system will have a chance.
IF the system was empty I would possibly consider it but since pitching is a strength I would say no I'll pass on Perez.
True Anon, that's another reason why a one year deal for Pettitte makes so much sense. Next year he'll be gone and there will be room for one of the youngsters.
If Pettitte doesn't sign, we should GIVE ACEVES A CHANCE!!!
He started out in the bullpen and when Girardi gave him the ball the very next day he pitched 7 innings of one-run ball against the Halos!
I want Andy back, and Perez would be a nice upgrade, but personally, I think Aceves (at least) should come to Spring Training and get a chance.
sorry.
I meant
(at least) should come to Spring Training and get a chance to start.
Yankeesboy98,
If they don't sign Pettitte, they will definitely have Aceves, Hughes, and maybe even Kennedy fight for the fifth spot during spring training. I like Aceves a lot. His stuff isn't amazing, but he really knows how to pitch and keep hitter off balance. If Phil Hughes knew as much about pitching as Aceves does he'd win 15 games.
That's what I'm trying to say. Aceves & Hughes is better than injury-prone Perez.
P.S. Ravens leading Miami 13-3 in the 3rd.
Check that: 20-3
Derek must be pissed.
You bet your ass he is Greg!
Yanks should go for (and dont pay anymore):
Pettitte, 1 yr 10 mil
Perez, 3 yrs, 6 mil/yr
Sheets, 2 yrs, 9 mil/yr
I would like Pettitte, then Hughes, Perez and Sheets being fall back options. Perez is very very wild and is very unpredictable. Sheets is good, but is a bigger injury risk than AJ Burnett. I totally agree with you on the Perez account, Greg.
What is the story with Pettitte already? Will we know something this week? This is getting a bit drawn out.
It is getting old Peter, hopefully they resolve this quickly.
Peter,
don't know, but I do know that he still wants to take the deal.
PUMPED FOR '09!
why is it that all these media folks seem to want Joba in the bullpen so much?
that's such an idiotic idea it's not even funny
The idea of the Yanks signing Perez is almost as dumb as the steady media drumbeat for Joba to go back to the bullpen. Please stop this nonsense already.
PS - Andy, you can make your decision any day now, thanks.
I have ZERO interest in Perez. He pitched "so-so" for an NL team and will just get pummeled on an AL team.
I think Kennedy is going to be the sleeper in the bunch. Wait until spring ball. You'll see.
There's a reason Kevin Kernan writes for the Post....has no clue about baseball
I've always thought Perez was awful since he followed up a career year with various forms of disaster. But the past couple of years with the Mets he showed there's potential life in there.
In defense of never throwing 200 innings, he's only 27, and at times the reason he didn't pitch was't due to injury, but rather being benched or being in the minors.
When it comes to the walks, yes, it's pretty ugly. He walked 105 batters last year in 194 innings. That's downright frightening.
That's the thing with Perez. He's got a very good ability to get out hitters (only 896 hits allowed in 999 innings), but the walks are what kills it. And I've learned one major thing watching the Yankees pitchers over the past several years, and it's that if you walk batters, you're in trouble. Our most successful pitchers in recent history are the ones who don't walk batters: Moose, Wells, Cone, Key, Pettitte, Wang among others. Even pitchers who don't have the best ability to get hitters out have been successful by not issuing walks.
One of the most frustrating things for a fan to watch, as well as teammates to have to sit through, is a wild starting pitcher. Oliver Perez would instill no confidence in the Yankee team when it comes to getting a win.
So while I think he's fairly talented, and is a decent enough pitcher and is young enough to be worked with, I wouldn't want the Yankees to bother. There's just too much indicating that he's incapable of being aggressive enough to perform at a quality level.
I'd still like to see Pettitte or Garland fill that final 5th spot for a reasonable price, if only for that veteran presence. If/when someone goes down with injury, Hughes or Aceves would then be ready to step in to fill in for however long they were needed. I don't think Garland would take a 1 year deal, so I think that's probably out of the question.
No to Perez, no to Sheets (in light of the shoulder concerns). That leaves our #5 spot right now with either Hughes or Aceves.
While I have no problem with those guys being our #5, what concerns me is if someone gets injured. In that event, then Hughes/Aceves steps into the #4 slot, and then the other one (or some other player) steps into the #5, and you're looking at the very real possibility of a thin rotation.
Considering the injury risks with Joba, and the fact they'll be limiting his innings total, it would be wise to pick up an innings eater veterean for the #5 spot.
This discussion would all be over with if Pettitte would just swallow his pride and take a $10-$12M deal. I honestly have no idea what this guy is thinking.
Hey Riccardo,
Sure, I just added you to my blogroll.
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