Paid-ho and the Yankees

[orangenblue420]

WHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYY GEORGEEEEEEEEEEE WHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYY



:sick: :sick: :sick:

[Booher]

man pedro looks like such a clown w/ that soul glo do.....Just give him a big red nose and be done w/ it.

[orangenblue420]

No comment from the only person I wanted a comment from :confused: :ugh: :heh:

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

Well, i for one hope it doesn't happen...i kinda don't think it will, just because the yankees need to get younger, not older!

I cut and pasted a lil bit from an article i read...

Two American League executives -- one had spoken with the Yankees, the other had been in contact with Martinez's agents -- told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Tuesday's meeting in Tampa was requested by Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza.

Martinez and his agents opted to deal directly with Steinbrenner, since the Yankees executives in New York had indicated no real interest in the pitcher, sources told Stark. That tactic for negotiations was used successfully last winter by both Gary Sheffield and Kenny Lofton.

One source told Stark the Yankees' New York operation wasn't aware Tuesday's meeting with Martinez was taking place until hours before it occurred.

Steinbrenner arranged a two-year deal with David Wells in January of 2002, despite the fact that many within the organization believed Wells was unreliable and unprofessional,

It may be that Steinbrenner and Martinez are using each other in this dalliance -- Steinbrenner, to drive up the price that Boston eventually pays to the All-Star pitcher, and Martinez, in invoking the Yankees to get more money out of the Red Sox.

[SCI03]

I disagree Jersey about his age, Many pitchers in the past, Clemens, Seaver etc had 2 or 3 year lulls in the middle of their careers when some of their power was lost. It takes them time for them to come to grips with that fact and develop another pitch. I think Pedro is about to come out of his lull. And start pitching differently but just as effective. Personality or past aside. the team that signs Pedro is going to get most if not all of what he was 2 or 3 years ago.

[horsesense]

which means somewhere between 12-17 wins.. Any team would take that...
I will add that he'll be one of the ugliest Yankees in pin stripes tho. :hurt:

[orangenblue420]

which means somewhere between 12-17 wins.. Any team would take that...
I will add that he'll be one of the ugliest Yankees in pin stripes tho. :hurt:


Not me - I dont want him PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate him, despise him, loathe him - Plus I heard george said something about him having to cut that nasty ass shyt he calls hair and dump the soul glo endorsements and also something about his good luck midget not being allowed in the locker room - so I dont think Paid-ho will take him up on any of the offers to become a Yankee -

But in all seriousness how do you think the crowd at Yankee Satdium would react to him his first time on the mound in pin-stripes?

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

Not me - I dont want him PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate him, despise him, loathe him - Plus I heard george said something about him having to cut that nasty ass shyt he calls hair and dump the soul glo endorsements and also something about his good luck midget not being allowed in the locker room - so I dont think Paid-ho will take him up on any of the offers to become a Yankee -

But in all seriousness how do you think the crowd at Yankee Satdium would react to him his first time on the mound in pin-stripes?
part of me says i wouldn't want to be there...part of me wants me to buy a ticket just so i can boo his ass off the mound.

[horsesense]

Plus I heard george said something about him having to cut that nasty ass shyt he calls hair and dump the soul glo endorsements and also something about his good luck midget not being allowed in the locker room -
LMFAO... :laugh: IMO Clemons is a bigger jerk then Pedra.. Not that Im trying to stir up any shyt...

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

I think there were a few diff. things going on with each.
For one, while clemens was with the sox, the rivalry wasn't what it is these days.
Second, he didn't come here directly from the sox, he came from the blue jays.
Finally, Clemens was a freak o nature...he was still winning cy youngs, still is now even.

Even though Scio disagrees, I think pedro's best days are behind him...not saying he can't still be an all-star caliber pitcher.

Plus, given the current climate, we need a lefty pitcher...we have enough righties!!!

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

There were several rumblings throughout baseball this week that the Yankees want to make a Thanksgiving surprise similar to the one that brought Curt Schilling to the Red Sox over Shonda Schilling's cooking. The deal primarily would involve Javier Vazquez and would be enticing to Randy Johnson because the Yankees would guarantee at least one more year on the Hall of Famer's contract.


But what makes no sense is Arizona taking on Vazquez. Wink, wink -- we know the Yankees would take on some of the money, but Vazquez has $25M guaranteed in 2006 and 2007. Now, the Diamondbacks likely will be worse than any of Vazquez's Expos teams, so he'll demand a trade at the end of the '05 season. If he has a good year, Arizona will be embarrassed. If he has a bad year, he will be virtually untradable at that price. Then there's the matter of Diamondbacks owner Jeff Moorad being the agent Vazquez fired.


Since the Yankee farm system is thin near the top, one talent solution is for the Diamondbacks to get Tom Gordon and Kenny Lofton, then spin Gordon off to either the Indians or Cubs, two of the richest organizations in young talent, and Lofton to the Phillies or Giants for a third prospect.


The D-Backs have looked at other alternatives, in St. Louis, Anaheim and Los Angeles, to name three. The White Sox were the most aggressive early with Paul Konerko, Jon Garland and minor-league center fielder Brian Anderson, but it is highly unlikely Johnson would go to the South Side of Chicago.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

Pedro Martinez's open begging to George Steinbrenner is unseemly at best, and - well, to recall Peter Townsend's greatest song ("I see right through your plastic mac") -- is such an obvious attempt to get the Red Sox to negotiate against themselves after making an offer than guarantees $27.5M for two years and likely will be moved to three and $39M if he agrees. Martinez was quoted as equating his salary to respect, which is far, far away from the Pedro Martinez values that build schools, churches and housing for his neighbors in Montaguayabo in the Dominican Republic.


As Vazquez makes little sense for the financially bereft Diamondbacks, so New York is the absolute worst idea for Martinez. He is a Hall of Famer, but he is also extremely sensitive, and in New York, once the season starts, he will be simply treated as a mercenary and subject to far greater criticism and scrutiny than he's ever experienced in Boston. But if it's only about money, then agent Fern Cuza can deal with the circumstances.


Boston is assuming Pedro is dead serious, so the Red Sox are proceeding with talks for Carl Pavano, Brad Radke (most likely returning to the Twins), Matt Clement, Jon Lieber, Odalis Perez, Jaret Wright, et al.


With the Martinez and Jason Varitek negotiations (with Scott Boras), the Red Sox are running a feeling off the World Series championship that the Boston franchise is dripping with cash. Then, in the midst of the debates with Boras about franchise worth, etc., ownership announced a ticket-price hike, taking box seats that eight years ago were $22 all the way to $85.

The Sox believe the Varitek negotiations could go all the way to Dec. 19, the date on which a free agent can accept or deny arbitration. For now, Boras isn't budging off five years and something north of an annual average over $10M (Boston is at 4/$36-39M), and isn't tipping his hand on whether or not the Angels are big-time players, which would allow them to trade the moveable contract of Bengie Molina.


And if Boston lost Varitek? Mike Matheny is a free-agent option. The Red Sox called about Paul Lo Duca, but Florida has no interest in trading him.

[chickennob2]

we haveto make sure that pedro stays in boston. I mean hes a sure win for the yankees. I just wish byung hyung kim or wutever his name was (the diamonback closer who got raped by the Yanks in the Series a few years back) was still in boston.....

[OrangeShadow]

Pedros usin Ny to get Boston to give him what he wants.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

Pedros usin Ny to get Boston to give him what he wants.
Exactly. It was reported yesterday here in NJ that Pedro's agent was the person who requested/set up the meeting between him and steinbrenner.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

For almost five months now, the Yankees have practically stalked Randy Johnson. But on Wednesday, they did something nobody saw coming:

They informed the Diamondbacks they were no longer interested in trading for him.
The question is: Do they mean it? Or was this just their cagy, Yankee-esque way of telling Arizona it's time to get serious -- or else?

We'll find out one of these days, obviously. But Yankees officials were telling other baseball men last night this was as serious as a 97-mile-an-hour Big Unit smokeball.

It's been no secret that the Yankees and Diamondbacks have spent the last two weeks discussing a potentially monstrous trade involving the Big Unit. But even as reports circulated that they might be within days of completing that deal, the Yankees were grousing about demands by Arizona they considered to be absurd and unrealistic.

So on Wednesday, Yankees president Randy Levine called Arizona's incoming CEO, Jeff Moorad, and said the Yankees couldn't meet Arizona's price so they were moving on to fill other needs, according to a baseball official who was aware of the conversation.

The teams essentially had agreed that Javier Vazquez would be the centerpiece of any deal, and that the Yankees would send Arizona a large portion of the $19.5-million difference between what was left on Johnson's contract and the three years remaining on Vazquez's deal.

Beyond that, though, at least in the Yankees' view, they were about as far apart as the Empire State Building and the Arizona Biltmore.

At one point, according to a baseball man familiar with the discussions, Arizona asked for Vazquez, Tom Gordon, pitcher Brad Halsey, several prospects and the cash to pay the salaries of both Vazquez and Gordon. The Yankees said: No thanks.

At another point, the Diamondbacks asked the Yankees to find a third team to spice up the deal. In addition to asking for Vazquez, money and prospects, they gave New York a list of 10 pitchers they would accept. It's believed that list included Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson, A.J. Burnett, Ted Lilly, Jason Jennings, Kenny Rogers and Shawn Chacon.

The Yankees eventually countered by offering Vazquez, Halsey, pitcher Alex Graman, another prospect and enough money to pay a significant chunk of Vazquez's salary. But the Diamondbacks turned that down.

So the Yankees' response was to inform Arizona that if that offer wasn't enough, it was time to turn their attention toward the other pitchers on their list.

Levine refused to comment when reached Wednesday night. And Arizona GM Joe Garagiola Jr. did not return a call from ESPN.com seeking comment.

However, Ken Kendrick, one of the Diamondbacks' controlling investors, told the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune that if the Yankees were telling people they'd totally backed out, "I would not say that's accurate." Kendrick declined to elaborate.

Johnson, who was at the Phoenix Suns' game, said only: "How about this game?" when asked by The Associated Press about the latest in trade talks.

It's believed the Yankees will move quickly to sign Al Leiter next week if the Mets don't offer him arbitration. And Carl Pavano has a Yankee visit scheduled for this weekend.

The Yankees also are actively talking with Jon Lieber, Eric Milton and Jaret Wright. But they still haven't done much more than monitor the Pedro Martinez negotiations. Which is a clear indication they're not particularly interested -- considering that George Steinbrenner normally is obsessed with outdueling the other teams in the Pedro Hunt, the Mets and Red Sox.

But as attractive as all those names may be, it's been obvious for weeks that Johnson was the No. 1 commodity on the Yankees' winter shopping list. So it's far from out of the question that this was just their way of putting the pressure on the Diamondbacks, instead of the other way around.

"This is a ploy, pure and simple," theorized one baseball man who has had frequent contact with both teams. "If the Yankees come out and show the world they're the ones being reasonable, Arizona looks like the bad guys."

What the Yankees also seem to have figured out is that if Arizona is going to trade Johnson, it has nowhere else to trade him.

For one thing, it's believed Johnson has indicated that he would accept a deal only to the Yankees, Cardinals and Angels. But St. Louis and Anaheim would have just as much trouble meeting the asking price as the Yankees.

One NL executive says it's his understanding the Diamondbacks have told St. Louis that pitcher Dan Haren wouldn't be acceptable as the lead prospect in a trade. So it appears the Cardinals -- who would have had trouble affording Johnson anyway -- have turned their attention elsewhere.

And the Angels look to be gearing up for a run at Carlos Beltran -- which wouldn't seem to leave them the financial resources to afford a big-buck extension for Johnson.

Arizona is high on a number of players in the Anaheim farm system. But the Angels are telling teams they don't want to trade their best position-player prospects -- third baseman Dallas McPherson, catcher Jeff Mathis and first baseman Casey Kotchman. So unless that philosophy changes, that's another huge obstacle to reeling in the Unit.

But if the Yankees, Cardinals and Angels are all out, that leaves … well … whom?

The Providence Journal reported Wednesday that the Red Sox have talked to Arizona about Johnson. But one baseball official with knowledge of those discussions said Tuesday: "They've talked to the Red Sox -- but not about Johnson."

The White Sox are extremely interested. But several people close to Johnson say he isn't interested in them.

And the Dodgers have been there and tried that. And if their refusal to trade Edwin Jackson was the main obstacle to finishing off a deal for the Unit in July, rest assured it would be just as large a roadblock now.
Which is why an executive of one NL team speculated Wednesday: "The Yankees might say they're moving on, but this is Randy Johnson. You're telling me they're not going to wait? He's the guy they want. So they'll wait."

Nevertheless, one AL executive who has spoken with the Yankees disagreed. If the Diamondbacks think they can wait a month to figure this out, then go back and find the Yankees ready to deal, they're miscalculating, he said.

In a month, the Yankees might still have interest and still have Vazquez to trade. But if they've already signed two other starting pitchers -- not to mention Carlos Beltran -- what they won't have is the money to send to Arizona with Vazquez, plus enough bucks left over to afford Johnson's extension.

"Even the Yankees have their limits," the executive said, "whether anyone wants to believe that or not."

[orangenblue420]

Although I would welcome any Big Unit with open arms :D I do not want to mortgage the future - I would rather have a non-WS team the next year or two and then dominate for the next five or six

And I am totally relieved to see Paid-ho's name out of the Yankee loop - I still say its cause he wont cut his hair and get rid of the midget

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

So, looks like Johnson is going be coming to NY....while I think it's inevitable that this was gonna happen, I don't want to say too much and jinx it, because it has NOT been finalized.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1954122

[Booher]

No worries from an orioles fan....The o's owned johnson when he was in the al.......I guess this may push the yankees luxary tax(mlb joke of a cap) up even further, hell their tax penalty is already higher than the devil rays team payroll. Somebody needs to tell steinbrenner that you cannot buy team chemistry.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

Oh, we'll see when Randy is hoisting the world series trophy!
I hope so badly that one of the red sox-yankees games i got tix for is Johnson vs Schilling....

[Booher]

Oh, we'll see when Randy is hoisting the world series trophy!
I hope so badly that one of the red sox-yankees games i got tix for is Johnson vs Schilling....


Yea......(sarcasm) not as long as mussina is a yankee....I put a curse on him when he left and he hasen't won a title.......AND HE WON"T!

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

lol...we'll see...Mussina's not what's holding the team back.

[Booher]

lol...we'll see...Mussina's not what's holding the team back.


Your right It's the curse I put on him that is holding the yankees back.......

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

curse?1?! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: , ah booher, you and your voodoo hexes.

[Booher]

Welp it looks like the yanks getting the big ugly(you cannot deny that) will get the o's a semi decent pitcher.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

I concur...Randy Johnson is not very attractive.

[NJBRONCOSFAN]

U think B-More is gonna end up getting Vasquez? I think he's a damn good pitcher...he was an all-star, just had a bad second half.

[orangenblue420]

I concur...Randy Johnson is not very attractive.


I second that emoticon :sick:

[Booher]

U think B-More is gonna end up getting Vasquez? I think he's a damn good pitcher...he was an all-star, just had a bad second half.


Thats what the rumors are that he'll be traded to bmore......