What do they do w/ Damon, Matsui and Andy? Who will they target in FA? Who are we going to groom to play SS? Do we hold onto Joba, Hughes and Coke, or do we trade them for some needs?

Who do we groom to be our catcher....because I think Jorge is on his way out and thats a tough position to fill.

Gregg wrote:
Who do we groom to be our catcher....because I think Jorge is on his way out and thats a tough position to fill.

The Twins have already groomed our future catcher! Ha-ha.

I don’t see why we can’t try to keep both Damon and Matsui? I understand thier age and the need to open up a space for one of our older hitters for as a pinch hitter but both players proved how valuable thier bats are this postseason. Its not like we can’t afford them. It’s a matter of do we want to afford them and thier age. I wouldn’t mind having them for 2 more seasons. But they may want more. Who knows.

Fool wrote:

Gregg wrote:

Who do we groom to be our catcher....because I think Jorge is on his way out and thats a tough position to fill.

The Twins have already groomed our future catcher! Ha-ha.

Yup, Joe Mauer would look great in pinstripes..... :<)

Fool wrote:

Gregg wrote:

Who do we groom to be our catcher....because I think Jorge is on his way out and thats a tough position to fill.

The Twins have already groomed our future catcher! Ha-ha.

that was nice of them. lol

Lol mituasui might be gone next year and looks like the yankees are going get jason bay. and damon i think will stay a 1 or 2 unless we make a play for really good middle releiver.

Frankly, I could do without Damon. He still has a good bat but I wish he wouldn’t play the field anymore. His weak arm is just such a liability. It cost us at least two runs in the world series alone. It isn’t feasible for him to be a full-time DH. I’d almost rather have matsui.

Matsui is extremely valuable as a full time DH...and if we dont resign Damon...nor get Bay or Holiday (neither by the way do I think would fit our team)...are we really ready to trust 2 of 3 outfield positions to Gardiner & Cabrera?

Pitching is also an issue...do we go after Lackey? Trade for Halladay? Trust Chamberlain & Hughes to the rotation? In that case what about the pen?

Well we still have Wang so we are okay with pitching for now. C.C., A.J., Wang, possible Petite but more likely not. And the 2 other spots for our developing youth that will one day be the future aces of this team. That gives us a strong starting 3 which keeps us in contention and at the same time lets us develop our youth.

As for the pen Marte looked really good and Robertson was fire and Phil Coke was effective. There were times they looked shaky but for the most part they kept it together.

As for closer we need to figure that out. Mo will prob play one more year but we really don’t have an answer after him because we’ve realied so heavily on him.

Damon may not have the strongest arm but his bat and play is too valubale to let go. He proved it with that great at bat to keep the Yankees alive in game 4 and that double steal. Losing his bat in our lineup hurts this team.

Matsui is a valuble bat too. I don’t see how we would let that get away too. I would do my best to keep the hitters we have now. It made it hell for every pitcher and closer that had to face us. There really isn’t any free agents that I can think of that would be a bettter fit then what our team is now. Replacing them would be like having Swisher. Swisher was good for us but at times he struggled. Bay or Holliday would be expensive and wouldn’t give us the same that Damon or Matsui gives.

Koogs wrote:
Matsui is extremely valuable as a full time DH...and if we dont resign Damon...nor get Bay or Holiday (neither by the way do I think would fit our team)...are we really ready to trust 2 of 3 outfield positions to Gardiner & Cabrera?



Pitching is also an issue...do we go after Lackey? Trade for Halladay? Trust Chamberlain & Hughes to the rotation? In that case what about the pen?

I think our pen is good to go. Harden might be an option for our rotation. Plus, we are going to go hard after the Cuban. I also have a feeling that old King Felix will be available, but I can’t imagine what Seattle will want for him.

Damon isn’t nearly the defensive player he once was. He doesn’t get to the balls he used to get to, in addition to his weak throwing arm.

Matsui hits for more power than Damon (a HR every 16 ab’s compared to almost 23 for damon), and gets on base just as well (.367 vs .365). Still, Matsui is offensively far more versatile. Matsui hit .271 against righties and .282 vs lefties this regular season, posting a good OPS of .835 against righties and a fantastic OPS of .976 against lefties.

Damon posts an .889 OPS against righties, which betters Matsui’s mark, but his OPS against lefties is .776, including a very unimpressive .332 OBP against southpaws. Matsui was on base at a .370 clip against lefties this season. In other words, Matsui is an above-average contributor whether the pitcher is left or right handed, whereas Damon is essentially neutralized by lefties. I think Matsui should be re-signed and given a chance to strengthen his knees a bit during this offseason. If he ends up as a DH/pinch hitter (when posada or another veteran is DH’ing), fine. I think it is fully possible though that he will be fit to play a few games in the outfield, making him more versatile again. I expect that if his knees feel better, he will improve his average as well. I think it would be a mistake to retain Damon and sign a Bay or a Holliday and throw Matsui on the scrapheap to finish out his MLB career with the Mariners or A’s.

Fool wrote:

Gregg wrote:

Who do we groom to be our catcher....because I think Jorge is on his way out and thats a tough position to fill.

The Twins have already groomed our future catcher! Ha-ha.

We have a good looking catching prospect name Jesus Montero. The kid can hit.

Jesus Montero is a talented prospect. He is a good hitter, at least in AA. He’s also only 19 years old. He allowed 8 passed balls in 33 games last season and still throws out less than 1/3 of base stealers. He’s easily 3 years away from being ready to be a full-time major league catcher, assuming he ever is. Odds are good he’ll always be below-average for a major league catcher in terms of defense. People frequently talk of making him a DH.

I’d keep Matsui at DH-alternative outfielder for another season. And I’d try to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay to replace Johnny Damon.

Holliday last season had an OPS of .909. Bay’s OPS is .921. Put either of those hitters behind Arod (OPS .933) and Tex (.945) and you’ll have the most potent 3-4-5 punch in baseball.

Damon’s OPS is .854 and he’s becoming a liability defensively.

Pitching wise I’d see if I could get Roy Halladay, especially since Pettitte is turning 38 next year.

The thing about trading for Halladay is that Toronto is going to want more for him than Cashman is going to be willing to give. Toronto knows that Halladay is one of the top 5 starting pitchers in all of major league baseball. They know that. They are going to want either hughes or chamberlain in addition to at least one (and probably 2) top-level prospects. Right or wrong, Cashman isn’t going to be willing to pay that price. If Toronto was offering Halladay for Melky Cabrera and Phil Coke we would obviously do it, but the Blue Jays aren’t that stupid.