SB Nation - Travis Lee

Worst New York Yankees of the Decade

Ed Valentine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

We had some fun the other day debating the Pinstripe Alley Yankee Team of the Decade. Good points were raised on several controversial choices.

Along the way, some of you asked for the 'Worst Yankees of the Decade' team. I thought that would be fun, so I decided to take a shot at it.

Looking at the rosters over the years, though, I found it almost impossible to narrow it down to a single team. Instead, position-by-position, here are some of the most forgettable -- and regrettable -- Yankees of the past decade.

I am sure there are many other names that could or should be added to this list. But, this should get you started strolling down the wrong side of Yankee Memory Lane.

C -- Alberto Castillo, Chris Turner, Chris Widger, Todd Greene, Joe Oliver, Bobby Estelalla, Wil Nieves, Sal Fasano, Michel Hernandez,

1B -- Travis Lee (.105 in 7 games)

2B -- Tony Womack

SS -- Erick Almonte,

3B -- Wilson Betemit, Drew Henson,

INF -- Alex Arias, Felix Escalona (.000, 5 games in 2004), Mark Bellhorn (.118, 9 games, 2005), Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa, Morgan Ensberg

OF -- Kenny Lofton, Matt Lawton (.125, 21 games, 2005), Mike Vento, Justin Christian,

DH -- Jose Canseco

SP -- Kevin Brown, Tim Redding (54.00 ERA in 1 game, 2005), Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Jaret Wright (Carl Pavano BEFORE Pavano), Christian Parker (one 2001 start, got hurt, never pitched again), Jeff Weaver, Darrell May, Sidney Ponson (multiple times),

RP -- Alex Graman (19.80 in 3 games, 2004) & 13.50 in 2 games, 2005), Colter Bean, Bret Prinz, Sean Henn, Gabe White, Billy Traber, Anthony Claggett (33.75 ERA in 2 games).

I am ashamed to admit so many guys like this have worn the pinstripes during the course of the last decade. Yuck!

A Modest Proposal: Bradley For Burrell For Millwood

Al — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:25:48 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Kevin Millwood would look good in a Cubs uniform in 2010.

Browse more photos »

I can't take credit for this one -- it was first suggested in this comment in the Pat Burrell Fanshot last night -- but I think it's worth investigating, as a deal sending Milton Bradley to Tampa Bay, Pat Burrell to the Rangers, and Kevin Millwood to the Cubs would help all three teams.

The Rays were one of the suitors for Bradley last offseason and a Bradley-for-Burrell deal has apparently been on and off the table between the Cubs and Rays since the middle of the 2009 season. Thus, we know they still have interest in him, and given the fact that Bradley has said he doesn't like to be in the spotlight, Tampa, a low-key baseball environment, might be very good for him.

Here's the problem with Burrell as a Cub, though: he's a DH. Last year, he played only two games in the outfield, starting one (in RF) and playing two innings in LF in the other. He wasn't a very good outfielder when he was with the Phillies; he played 1B, his "best" natural fielding position, in his first full major league season, then moved to the outfield because the Phillies acquired players (Travis Lee and then Jim Thome) who would have been even worse in the outfield than Burrell.

Since the National League doesn't have the DH rule -- yet; I still expect that having the DH in the NL will be a bargaining chip in the next round of player/owner labor negotiations -- Burrell would be useless to the Cubs, even as a backup. You wouldn't want him in the outfield, and he'd be an expensive piece to sit on the bench and pinch-hit twice a week and maybe spell Derrek Lee at 1B once a month.

Ah, but the Texas Rangers do need a designated hitter. About half of the DH duty in Arlington in 2009 was handled by Andruw Jones, who wasn't much better than Burrell last year, and who is a free agent. Burrell's decline with the Rays last year is mystifying -- he was coming off a .875 OPS season in Philadelphia in 2008 where he had 33 HR and 102 walks, which ranked third in the NL. You'd have to think he'd rebound in 2010, playing in the launching pad which is Rangers Ballpark.

The primary reason for making this deal, of course, is the Cubs' desire to be rid of Bradley, and thus you'd have to equalize the contract money between the three teams, or at least come close to doing so. The Cubs know they are not dealing from a position of strength and will probably have to take on extra money, so let's look at what's left on the contracts of each of these players. All numbers are, as usual, from Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Milton Bradley is due $9 million in 2010 and $12 million in 2011.

Pat Burrell is due $9.2 million in 2010 ($9 million salary and $200,000 if traded).

Kevin Millwood is due $12 million in 2010 -- and a $15 million signing bonus that's payable over a five-year period from 2011 to 2015, presumably $3 million a year (though that's not made clear at Cot's).

If the deal were made straight-up -- each team taking on the contract of the player they're acquiring -- the Rangers make out like bandits, because they'd be losing a $27 million obligation (Millwood) and taking on a $9.2 million obligation (Burrell). The Cubs would be taking on some extra money in that scenario, $27 million (Millwood) compared to $21 million (Bradley). The total money owed to all three players in all three of these deals is $57.2 million.

We know, from numerous reports, that the Cubs are willing to eat some salary to make Bradley disappear from the roster. So how about something like this:

The Rays pay Bradley the $9 million he's owed this year, and $3 million (one-third) of what Bradley's owed in 2011 -- total of $12 million.

The Cubs pay Millwood the $12 million he is owed this year, two-thirds of what Bradley's owed in 2011 ($9 million) and half ($7.5 million) of Millwood's signing bonus over the five-year period -- total of $28.5 million, but spread out over a longer timeframe.

The Rangers pay Burrell the $9.2 million he's owed this year, and half ($7.5 million) of Millwood's signing bonus over the five-year period -- total of $16.7 million.

That, to me, would make the deal financially workable, and also make baseball sense, for all three teams -- the Rays get a player they have apparently sought for a while at an under-market price; the Cubs pay a few more total dollars, but can spread it out over a longer time period; and the Rangers get a useful player and more than $10 million of financial relief. This would also possibly free up enough 2010 dollars for the Cubs to offer Rich Harden arbitration, if they wanted to; if they didn't, they'd at least have an experienced major league arm in Millwood to replace him.

As we often say here: GETITDON EJIM!

Will the Twins Sign Kyle Gibson?

Jesse — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:25:15 -0000

Deadline: 11pm

If the Twins don't negotiate the gap between their offer of around $1.3 million and Gibson's request of around $2.5 million, then Minnesota's 2009 first-round draft pick will go back to college for his senior year at Missouri. At 21, Gibson was considered a top-talent pitcher in the draft before suffering a stress fracture in his throwing arm.

The last time the Twins didn't sign their first-round draft pick, back in 1996 with Travis Lee, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Lee had an undistinguished career, compiling just a .745 OPS for his nine years in the league. But that doesn't mean the Twins are taking this situation lightly.

It sounds like the organization is going for the personal touch, sending a scouting supervisor to Gibson in Indiana. Check out Joe Christensen's details at the Strib.

Can they do it? They aren't the only team racing the deadline, but with so many teams signing players for over-slot money, will the Twins dish out the necessary money for a shot at high talent? Stay tuned...

Draft Day Open Thread

Jesse — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:00:17 -0000

Round 1 Archives
Pick 1: Washington Nationals, Stephen Strausburg, RHP
Pick 2: Seattle Mariners, Dustin Ackley, CF/1B
Pick 3: San Diego Padres, Donavan Tate, CF
Pick 4: Pittsburgh Pirates, Jorge Sanchez, C
Pick 5: Baltimore Orioles, Matthew Hobgood, RHP
Pick 6: San Francisco Giants, Zack Wheeler, RHP
Pick 7: Atlanta Braves, Mike Minor, LHP
Pick 8: Cincinnati Reds, Mike Leake, RHP
Pick 9: Detroit Tigers, Jacob Turner, RHP
Pick 10: Washington Nationals, Drew Storen, RHP
Pick 11: Colorado Rockies, Tyler Matzek, LHP
Pick 12: Kansas City Royals, Aaron Crow, RHP
Pick 13: Oakland Athletics, Grant Green, SS
Pick 14: Texas Rangers, Matt Purke, LHP
Pick 15: Cleveland Indians: Alex White, RHP
Pick 16: Arizona Diamondbacks: Bobby Borchering, 3B
Pick 17: Arizona Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock, CF
Pick 18: Florida Marlins: Chad James, LHP
Pick 19: St. Louis Cardinals: Shelby Miller, RHP
Pick 20: Toronto Blue Jays: Chad Jenkins, RHP
Pick 21: Houston Astros, Jiovanni Mier, SS
Pick 22: Minnesota Twins, Kyle Gibson, RHP
Pick 23: Chicago White Sox, Jared Mitchell, CF
Pick 24: Los Angeles Angels, Randal Grichuk, RF
Pick 25: Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout, CF
Pick 26: Milwaukee Brewers, Eric Arnett, RHP
Pick 27: Seattle Mariners, Nick Franklin, SS
Pick 28: Boston Red Sox, Reymond Fuentes, CF
Pick 29: New York Yankees, Zack Heathcott, CF
Pick 30: Tampa Bay Rays, LeVon Washington, 2B
Pick 31: Chicago Cubs, Brett Jackson, CF
Pick 32: Colorado Rockies, Tim Wheeler, CF

With the draft about to kick off, here's MLB.com's revised Top 10 boad

Washington: Stephen Strausburg, RHP
Seattle: Dustin Ackley, 1B/OF
San Diego: Donovan Tate, OF
Pittsburgh: Tony Sanchez, C
Baltimore: Zack Wheeler, RHP
San Francisco: Tyler Matzek, LHP
Atlanta: Mike Minor, LHP
Cincinatti: Alex White, RHP
Detroit: Shelby Miller, RHP
Washington: Drew Storen, RHP

The 2009 amateur-entry draft kicks off tonight at 5pm central time. We'll have coverage tonight of the Twins top picks. In the mean time, feel free to kick around a little discussion.

There's been a lot of talk about Minnesota drafting a prep pitcher in the first round, something they haven't done since 2004 with Kyle Waldrop and Jay Rainville

20 Years of Twins 1st-Round Picks
2008: Aaron Hicks
2008: Carlos Gutierrez
2008: Shooter Hunt
2007: Ben Revere
2006: Chris Parmelee
2005: Matt Garza
2005: Henry Sanchez
2004: Trevor Plouffe
2004: Glen Perkins
2004: Kyle Waldrop
2004: Matt Fox
2004: Jay Rainville
2003: Matt Moses
2002: Denard Span
2001: Joe Mauer
2000: Adam Johnson
2000: Aaron Heilman
1999: B.J. Garbe
1998: Ryan Mills
1997: Michael Cuddyer
1997: Matt LeCroy
1996: Travis Lee
1995: Mark Redman
1994: Todd Walker
1994: Travis Miller
1993: Torii Hunter
1993: Jason Varitek
1993: Mark Barcelo
1993: Kelcey Mucker
1992: Dan Serafini
1991: David McCarty
1991: Scott Stahoviak
1990: Todd Ritchie
1990: Midre Cummings
1989: Chuck Knoblauch

Draft Trivia:

In the 17th round of the 2000 draft, the Twins drafted Paul Maholm. Maholm went to college, and three years later was drafted in the 8th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's now one of their young, premier players, who's contract was likely a starting point for the long-term Scott Baker deal.
Another 17th round draft pick, J.J. Putz in 1998, went back to college for a year before being drafted in the sixth round the following season. He's a bit of a head case, but for a short period was one of the game's premier closers.
1997 wasn't just a good draft for the Twins, producing a small handful of regulars for future seasons (including J.C. Romero and Michael Restovich), but it was also a draft of fate. Nick Punto was drafted in the 33rd round, but re-entered the draft. Adam Johnson was selected in the 25th round, only to re-surface three years later as the team's number one pick. Kevin Frederick was drafted in the 34th round of the 1998 draft by the Twins, but the season before they'd chosen him in the 17th round.
In the 33rd round of the '96 draft, the Twins selected Mike Lamb. Another one to return to the draft, he'd return 12 years later.
Minnesota actually selected Emil "Drop It Like It's Hot" Brown in the 37th round of the 1993 draft. In retrospect, the world rejoiced when he let the Athletics draft him in '94.
Twenty years ago, in addition to Knoblauch, the Twins also drafted Marty Cordova, Denny Neagle, Scott Erickson, Mike Trombley and Denny Hocking. They all played major roles with the team at some point in their careers, even Neagle: he and Midre Cummings were later traded for John Smiley.

Poll

How will the Twins draft for their first pick?

Prep Pitcher

39 votes

College Pitcher

44 votes

Prep Position Player

16 votes

College Position Player

9 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed