So, Greg Bird, the best Yankee 1B prospect since Nick Johnson is crushing it in the AFL. Cool as it is, it starts to raise uncomfortable questions about his future with the Yankees. He missed the first part of the 2014 season, then started the season in High A Tampa before being promoted to AA Trenton. Once he got going, he raked and had a great stint at AA. The question is, will they start him back at AA? Or will they start him at AAA and have him ready for whenever it is that Tex gets his first boo boo. And if he continues to thrive at AAA, will they even promote when Tex goes down? They didn't promote Roller who had a fine offensive season.
Btw, I've read various scouting takes on Roller, and you know what? I'll believe the numbers. He should have been promoted. I don't care how he looked producing the numbers.
In any event, Bird could end up as next year's Refsnyder -- a better player than the big league starter but mired in the minors due to poor planning.
I hope they don't trade him.
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The only real knock I've read from scouts on him is the fact that he's "un-athletic." But how much athleticism do you really need to play first base? The amount of runs you save at that position is statistically insignificant.
Are you talking about Roller or Bird?
Bird.
I've seen both and I think Bird is a little stiff butI feel a better 1st basemen then Roller..I also feel Bird is a real prospect while i feel Roller is a AAAA type.
They're going to get a SS. We'll see who they burn.
But despite the faux GM's claims, Tex is done. They need a 1B as soon as one is ready.
If I had to guess, Sanchez and one of Severino/Clarkin are the ones they burn for a SS. Which sucks, because I'm not aware of one on the market that's worth that price.
I don't see them burning top end prospects for a SS, especially since they have a bunch of good ones making their way through the system.
They want to win NOW.
Nothing they've put on the field since 2009 has reinforced that claim.
I like Roller but if you think McCann swings at a lot of bad pitches then you'd be in for a rude awakening when you saw Roller. I've seen him multiple times and while his OBP says otherwise, he's definitely a free swinger.
I'm rooting for Bird, hopefully he can continue this tear and become a Matt Adams/Allen Craig type 1b.
PS - A good defensive 1B when it comes to picking balls is HUGE! They don't need any range but they technique in their glovework is critical. I need to remind some of you guys how bad Giambi was cause we've been spoiled by Tex, but man the amount of runs he saves should be spoken of.
I hate to put Roller down because he is such a great kid.With that said he is terrible at the " Scoop"
Aye, I should have said, Bird needs to be able to scoop up balls. For all his lack of range, Giambi could at least do that much.
Roller should be an option off the bench/insurance for Teixeira. But this team refuses to let guys like him and Pirela fill out the roster for some odd reason.
Aye, GO NAVY...Refs I understood being he couldnt play second yet at the MLB level but Pirela should have be up earlier for sure,
Billy is right about how underappreciated a good defensive 1B man is, or at least an adequate one is. Especially important is the ability to control imperfect throws, as it enables the infielders to make the aggressive play and often get an out.
We've entered an era where defense has become overrated.
Sure baseball is half offense and half defense, but pitching is the overwhelming half of the D.
And good defensive 1B's don't really save many runs at all. Surely not more than a better hitting 1B can create.
Your big run stealers are at other positions.
Roller might look like a free swinger, but so did Mickey, and like Mickey, his OBP tells a different story. And that's the real story.
Kale, I think you're reaching extremely. Comparing Roller to Mickey? Comeon. You of all people should know that you can't scout a stat line.
And defense is not overrated-- a run saved is just as good as a run created.
Sanchez and Severino should net us Starlin Castro.
Perhaps a Murphy and Phelps would net us Alexei Ramirez.
No thanks to either IMO.
"Nothing they've put on the field since 2009 has reinforced that claim."
The win now claim?
They spent $500m on FA twice before the 2009 and 2014 season.
All they do is try to win now.
As for defense, yes, it adds value, but offense has to be the priority because its effect is more predictable and less dependent on other variables.
Jeter is a great example. He played the most important defensive position on the spectrum, and is rightly considered a great or near great player, but his defense ranged (pun intended) from average (even at his peak) to awful.
1B is an offensive position (just compared league average offense at the postiion to other positions).
Now, if the market is undervaluing defense then like an inefficiency, it should be exploited by teams that look to save money.
Billy, I was using an example I'm sure you would know. People thought Mickey was a free swinger. Yet his OBP was well over .400. You think Roller is a free swinger, and yet his OBP is damn good, thus it doesn't matter how it looks to you. The numbers don't lie.
Lawyer,
I was talking about what they put on the field., not what they spent to put it on the field.
Wouldn't trading AJack, IPK, and Coke for an already declining Granderson, and Melky, Dunn plus for Vazquez and Logan be win now moves, albeit dumb ones. The trade for Prado as well, or even letting Capuano block Mitchell.
Granted, the Montero for Pineda move runs counter to that, but that implicates other issues.
I'm saying that if their philosophy is "win now" then they have failed miserably since 2009. I am not saying that is not their philosophy.
Oh...
They have failed in terms of having a sufficiently balanced team (offense; prime age/young) to give them a realistic and consistent chance of going deep in the playoffs every year.
In terms of doing just enough to make the media and some fans think they are actually trying to win the WS every year instead of pretending, as is actually the true situation, then yes, they have succeeded.
The more I think about it, Cashman's recent nonsense provides him when the perfect excuse:
1) Don't blame me if I overpay for a veteran, I have to win now.
2) Don't blame me if I trade old for young, I have to win now.
3) Don't blame me if I don't give a kid an extended opportunity to develop, I have to win now.
But that's bullshit because he keeps re-upping and taking the money with his eyes wide open, knowing that his sensible assertions of a decade ago are just dust in the wind.
Edit:
offense/pitching
young for old
I blame Hal. He's the budget nut, as well as the one who shorted the draft budgets as soon as he took over, as well as the one who wouldn't pay for Cubans, but would rubber stamp NAME former all stars for big dough and big years.
Yes, he and his siblings suck, but the wouldn't need Cubans as much or bigger draft budgets if his GM could even develop at league average or make trades in which he didn't always have to take salary back in order to win.
If Sabean had been kept as Stick's replacement, this team would be much, much better.
Cashman is incompetent.
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