Well then who do you propose we put in the setup slot if we had let Rivera go and put Joba at closer?
Well then who do you propose we put in the setup slot if we had let Rivera go and put Joba at closer?
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
David Riske would have been the best choice to go out and sign. He's actually worth a three year deal.
ouch, that is rough. brownie's got my back though. I think they did the right thing. The only reason why the Yankees signed LaTroy Hawkins (i throw up in my mouth a little every time i hear his name) is because there is no one else better out there, let alone anyone to set up. Mo is declining A LITTLE, there's no denying that. but he's still mariano rivera, and until his arm falls off, we gotta keep him.
David Riske over a 41 year old Mo wouldn't even make sense.
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
You asked who could set up and Riske was the best one available this offseason. It would be Joba over Rivera, not Riske. Plus the Yankees would actually be smart with their money. If you throw up in your mouth over Riske, have fun all year choking on puke with that horrible Yankee bullpen. If anything, the Yankees should have sign Rivera to a one year deal. They didn't and pissed their money away and its too bad Rivera no longer fools the Red Sox.
It's easy to say they should have signed Rivera to a one-year deal, but he obviously didn't want a one-year deal...I'm sure if he wanted one, they wouldn't have signed him to a 3-year deal. That's just the way negotiations work.
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
Yes and that's when the Yankees should have walked away. No team was going to pay a 40 year old closer who is on the decline what he was asking for. Just like Arod, no one was willing to give what he wanted. Instead they gave Posada and Rivera ridiculous deals that will hurt the Yankees. You said not to mention Wright or Pavano but you have to when you are talking about the Yankees giving money away and not being smart about it.
Actually, it would be Joba -> Rivera over Riske -> Joba. No good. Mo will be fine in 3 years. He won't be dominant, but he won't be crap either.You asked who could set up and Riske was the best one available this offseason. It would be Joba over Rivera, not Riske.
The Yankees weren't being "not smart" with their money. They understand that they have a lot to utilize, and that they can make risky moves. This is because if they fail, they have the money to cover up the problem with. They can't be criticized for having lots of money and using it.You said not to mention Wright or Pavano but you have to when you are talking about the Yankees giving money away and not being smart about it.
When they don't use their money wisely, they can and will be criticized all day. Over the next three years, I would take Riske/Joba over Joba/Rivera. Joba would only get better while Rivera would be getting worse. Yes, the Yankees have not been smart with their money nad can't believe you cannot admit that.
I think you're mixing up "smart" with "risky". They can take risks, and when they backfire (as all risks can and some will do) they make it look like they aren't being smart. But it's just a matter of being able to take expensive risks, and when they don't work out, just eating the cost and throwing it under the rug. Other teams can't do that. The Marlins, for example, can only throw lots of money at a DEFINATE hit player, because if they go to s*&% then the team is bankrupt. That's the difference. It's ability to take risks. Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano were high risks that backfired. The Yankees ate the high cost and threw them under the rug.
People generally don't concentrate on the successful risks, just the unsucessful ones. Sucessful examples: Bobby Abreu. Hideki Matsui. Unsuccessful: Kei Igawa, Carl Pavano. It goes both ways
I'll criticize them for the Wright deal all day. The Pavano contract looks horrific now but he was pitching well at the time. It still wasn't a good deal but the Wright one is the really AWFUL one. So I will criticize them for that.
However, I'll bet money Mariano Rivera in 3 years is better than David Riske now.
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
Signing 40 year old closers who are declining is not risky, it's dumb. Same goes for giving Pavano that huge contract when he wasn't worth it, even at the time. Dumb. Signing Randy Johnson to an extension wasn't smart. I guess you can call it risky. I'm going to call it stupid because that's what it is. Just because you have the money doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive guy on the market or the biggest name. Sheffield over Vlad. You say it goes both ways but when the bad outweighs the good by a lot I don't see risks, I see stupid mistakes.
Trading nothing of real value for Abreu isn't a risk.
Risky is the Cardinals trading for Chris Carpenter knowing he was going to miss a year.
I'll take that Riske/Rivera bet.