Cano Could Earn up to $55 Million

 

Tyler Kepner (The Times) has the story. Basically, Cano and the Yankees agreed on a deal that could have him earning up to $55 million over a 6-year period. The deal is still not official, and will soon become official once Cano passes a physical.

Why Am I Writing About Chuck Knoblauch?

Well, Congress still can’t find him (and therefore, cannot issue his subpoena), that’s why. A contractor at Knoblauch’s house said he’d be gone for most of the week (vacation?), so maybe that explains things. At least his mother still thinks he’ll cooperate.

Mets Making Moves

Reports are indicating that the Mets are close to a deal with the durable Livan Hernandez. If the Yankees didn’t have so many starters, I would have been okay with signing Hernandez as an insurance option, simply to eat some innings. However, with all the options available to the club, whether it’s the abundance of minor league pitching or Kei Igawa and Mike Mussina, the Yankees are really set in that department.

I do wonder how this would effect the Mets in their pursuit of Johan Santana (if the report is accurate). The Mets have Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez, and by adding Livan, they would seem set with their rotation. Unless, of course, they don’t trust Pedro’s age (36) and his recent injury issues. They could also be worried about Oliver Perez and whether or not he’ll be able to maintain his numbers.

Hank Steinbrenner Speaks (Again)

Here’s a great interview with Hank Steinbrenner by the AP. I encourage you to check it out, although fairly lengthy, it’s definitely insightful and packed with details. Here are a just a few of the noteworthy statements (there are many) from the interview:

On patience and trusting the younger players.

“I will be patient with the young pitchers and players. There’s no question about that because I know how these players develop,” he said. “But as far as missing the playoffs – if we miss the playoffs by the end of this year, I don’t know how patient I’ll be. But it won’t be against the players. It won’t be a matter of that. It will be a matter of maybe certain people in the organization could have done something else.”

“It will be a matter of maybe certain people in the organization could have done something else.” I wonder who he was referring to (e.g. Brian Cashman)?

Hank also spoke about being, well, outspoken in baseball. He reacts to his many critics and doesn’t hold anything back. I do admit, it’s kind of fun to read.

“I don’t particularly necessarily enjoy it. It was kind of thrust upon me. At some point, if you’re going to be a leader, you’ve got to step up and you can’t hide in the office,” he said. “Unless it can directly affect negotiations, the fans do deserve to know what’s going on. There’s no problem with that. Whether other people have a problem with that, I really don’t give a damn. They don’t buy the tickets, all right?”

Here’s Hank’s reaction to those who use the Mitchell Report in order to question the validity of the Yankees Dynasty from the 90’s (and his reaction to the report in general):

“Don’t make any mistake about it: Our team in the late 90s beat everybody, and we beat everybody because we were that much better than everybody,” he said. “And they had just as many players doing stuff – all the teams. I guarantee you go through every team in baseball, and they all have the same basic percentage of players doing stuff. They just weren’t as good as us. You think the Red Sox didn’t have players doing stuff back then? Give me a … break. They just weren’t as good as us, and neither was anybody else.”

Seriously, check out the interview. Arrogance, honesty, intelligence, outspokenness and, of course, more arrogance, all held together with a commitment to winning. It’s classic stuff.

Cashman on Cano and Matsui

From PA’s LoHud Blog:

Ran into Brian Cashman, who just got back from a week on the beach with his family. True to his nature, he did a little work and hammered out the new contract for Robinson Cano. We should get the official announcement on that sometime soon.

Nice to know. Cashman also spoke to Pete about Matsui:

He said Hideki Matsui is healthy and will be ready to go for spring training. The Yankees are hoping he will arrive early and working to set that up.

So, I guess we don’t have to worry about Matsui’s knee after all.

From Untouchable to Touched

Here are some past comments from a variety of media outlets (reporters), featuring the commentary of team officials and scouts, including reporters who have directly quoted or paraphrased Brian Cashman, regarding the young Phil Hughes.

Tyler Kepner (NY Times), June 6, 2006:

“I would have to say that he is the one Yankee prospect that is untouchable.” –Anonymous General Manager

“Hopefully we can keep him here. He’ll be here soon.” –Jorge Posada

“I wouldn’t label anybody untouchable, but he’s harder to touch than most.” –Brian Cashman, GM of the Yankees

Ryan Mink (MLB), August 07, 2006:

“[Players such as] Phil Hughes and [Jose] Tabata. There are a lot of guys I was looking to protect.” –Brian Cashman, when asked about trading Hughes for Bobby Abreu

“To be honest, I can’t name you one,” he said. “And I’ve been with this organization for 14 years as a player and a coach.”  –Double-A manager, Bill Masse, when describing untouchable players before Phil Hughes

“This is the first time in a long time that the Yankee consideration is, ‘We have players in the Minor Leagues that we have to make room for down the road and we’re not going to move those pieces.’” –Joe Torre

George King (NY Post), July 5, 2007:

Because GM Brian Cashman has been reluctant to talk about including minor-league pitchers Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain in a trade – Phil Hughes is untouchable at all costs- the Yankees likely don’t have what it will take to get Gagne, in whom the Tigers are very interested.

Mark Feinsand (MLB/Yankees), July 14, 2006:

General manager Brian Cashman has made it clear that pitching prospect Philip Hughes is as close to untouchable as any player in the Yankees’ farm system.

George King (NY Post), October 15, 2006:

Instead, Steinbrenner listened to Cashman tell him that Hughes was untouchable and Abreu was acquired, with the late Cory Lidle, for four minor leaguers, three of whom are babies.

Mark Feinsand (MLB/Yankees), September 13, 2006:

Hughes represents the rare Yankees prospect who proved to be untouchable, no matter how many teams inquired about his availability.

“It’s a very good feeling to know that the organization that drafted you wants to keep you around.” –Phil Hughes

“Everything I heard was that I was going to stay here. It was where I wanted to stay, so I was very pleased.” –Phil Huhges

Paul Hagen (Philadelphia Daily News), July 28, 2006:

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman would rather part with his own big toe than pitcher Phil Hughes.

Now, fast-forward to the end of the 2007 campaign. Johan Santana has just hit the trading block, while Phil Hughes pitched relatively well for the year. He did this even after being rushed to the Bronx and facing some injury (and subsequent mechanical) issues.

Anthony Dicomo (MLB), December 06, 2007:

Joba Chamberlain — more than Phil Hughes, more than Ian Kennedy, more than just about any pitcher to wear pinstripes this decade — is untouchable.

And so on a day when he was busy touching so many other lives, Chamberlain reflected on what exactly it means to be untouchable.

George King (NY Post), July 24, 2007:

“They have told teams (Chamberlain) is untouchable” –AL Talent Evalutor

Kat O’Brien (Newsday), January 9, 2008:

The Yankees proposed a trade in early December that would have sent righthander Phil Hughes and centerfielder Melky Cabrera, along with one or two midlevel prospects, to Minnesota.

The Associate Press (via NY Post), November 11, 2007:

“We need a No. 1. I would love to have him.” –Jorge Posada when asked about Johan Santana possibly being traded to the Yankees

The Associated Press (via MSNBC), Updated January 11, 2008:

“You never want to hear your name out there, but on the other side, at least it’s good to know that other teams think highly of you. I wouldn’t say tough winter, but definitely an interesting one.” –Phil Hughes talking about the trade rumors involving him, Melky Cabrera, and Johan Santana

Funny how things change. To his credit, Brian Cashman has always said that nobody is truly untouchable, meaning he never outwardly stated (from what I’ve seen) that Hughes would never be discussed in trade talks. But, it is interesting to see how Hughes’ standing has somewhat fallen, especially when compared to the way he was thought of only a year ago. This change in perception also coincides with the “mythic” emergence of Joba Chamberlain, who has better raw stuff than Hughes, but that’s besides the point.

You can either look at these comments and say, hey, all this means is that nobody is untouchable, even Joba Chamberlain (he can end up in the same position as Hughes one day). Or, you can look at these statements and say, oh, well it is Johan Santana so discussing a trade that features one of our once “untouchable” young pitchers is really okay. Or, you can look at this and say “WTF” are the Yankees doing discussing Hughes in trade talks (which is what most of us have done).

I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just thought it was interesting.

Phil Hughes Appreciates the Fans

Phil Hughes spoke with Bryan Hoch (Yankees Website), and had this to say when asked about his new blog (here on WordPress):

“The fans, a lot of times, don’t get a personal side of what guys are like away from the field,” Hughes said. “I’ve always felt it’s my obligation to stay close to the fans, because without them, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now. I’ve always felt it’s important to give back in all the ways that I can.”

Hughes is a classy kid who appears to be capable of handling himself in NY. I also think that his blog was a smart PR effort (by Hughes) at keeping himself in pinstripes. He knew that the majority of the fans wanted him to stay a Yankee (and not get traded away), therefore, he started his blog to capitalize on the fan love/support, hoping that it would play a part in any negotiations that the Yankees were having with the Twins (not the blog, but the support maintained through it).

I’m not saying this in a negative way. It’s just smart is all.

I Support Julio Lugo

 

I hate Julio Lugo. I don’t care much for the Red Sox either. My girlfriend and I, who is a Red Sox fan (yes, feel sorry for me), often wonder why Lugo needs to repeatedly grab his crotch whenever he steps up to the plate. Then, like clockwork, during his grabfest, he tends to flare his nostrils like an enraged bull. Does this help him hit over .240? Judging from his 2007 campaign, apparently not. 

All of these things make me hate Julio Lugo, now and forever.

For this reason, and in order to temper my hatred, I have pledged my support to Julio Lugo. A few days ago, I paid $45 to Baseball-Reference, allowing me sponsor Lugo’s player page (with all his statistical/historical info) for the entire year. As a sponsor, you have the right to leave a message and a link to your website. I would’ve reported this earlier, however, the following message was not approved by BR.

Don’t stare at the stats for too long… or else, Julio Lugo may just jump out and assault you (like he did to his wife).

I clearly understand why BR sent me an email afterwards, stating that my message was too “over the top.” Now, the new message is very generic, but I’ll be changing it again in a day or two. So, with that said, whenever you need to see Julio Lugo’s stats (however horrible they maybe), feel free to search for Lugo on BR. And then, when you find it, click on OUR link (quickly), because, you know, you wouldn’t want to get assaulted by Julio Lugo (like he did to his wife…).