Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: YANKEE REFLECTIONS ANYONE???
From: jpollock@eagle.wesleyan.edu
Date: 25 Jan 93 14:21:58 EST
 <1993Jan19.024549.20444@cs.cornell.edu> <1993Jan22.120830.1@eagle.wesleyan.edu> <1993Jan22.213722.12327@cs.cornell.edu>
Organization: Wesleyan University

>> His OBP isn't horrible because he hits for a good batting average.
> (Though his OBP isn't anywhere close to what you want from a leadoff
> hitter.)  But patience?  Kelly has practically none.
> 
Kelly's year last year was fairly atypical of his "career" up to then and also
I think of his potential.  Watching all the games, I noticed that Kelly (along
with Mattingly, who is most certainly NOT an impatient batter by anyone's
standards) was swinging at many more bad pitches than he had the previous year. 
I'm not sure why this was true...perhaps just pressures from the organization
to perform, NY media, etc...  going to Cincinatti I think will improve his
patience.  After all, with the exception of Kevin Maas two years ago, no one
on the Yankees has walked an incredible amount.  
>>> Kelly has whined ever since being moved out of CF.  He also has been a
>>> bit injury prone over the years.  I suspect both of these figured
>>> highly in their thinking...
>>
>>don't forget, O'Neill was doing his share of whining in Cincinatti.
> 
> Hey, I didn't say that either of these thoughts were justified, now
> did I?  In fact I implied that I thought they *weren't* reasonable
> reasons for the trade.

Yeah, I agree.  They're definitely not good reasons for a trade.  Kelly has not
been injury prone enough to justify a trade.
 
>>What are the chances that impatient
>>Steinbrenner, when he has Williams, Barfield, Tartabull, and others waiting in
>>the wings, is going to give O'Neill time to pull out of those slumps?
> 
> Barfield is no longer with the team.  O'Neill will have to fight it
> out with Gerald Williams and Dion James, but that's about it.
> Tartabull is definitely *not* "waiting in the wings".  He's going to
> be starting in left field.

You have to remember, Showalter really wants to use Williams.  He's said
repeatedly that he believes that Williams has the ability to be their everyday
outfielder.  So why should they deal for O'Neill instead of dealing for someone
they could use, like a CATCHER!  (esp. after giving away a minor league 
catcher prospect like Brad Asmus in the draft).  I don't think it was a
horrible trade at all.  maybe slightly uneven, but definitely not a trade in an
area where they needed improvement.  Outfield and first base are two positions
that they've had covered for years.

>>Yeah, I think it'll be close.  Personally, I like Baltimore's manager
>>better. ;) The Blue Jays mortgaged their future by picking up so many
>>veterans, but they're not going to pay the price for a year or two....
> 
> I wouldn't count on it.  Remember Jack Clark, Wade Boggs, Mike
> Schmidt, and others.  With any player over the age of about 32, there
> is a significant risk that they will suddenly and entirely cease to
> produce.  Von Hayes.  Jack Clark.  Wade Boggs.  I can't really say
> that Stewart or Morris or Molitor *will* be a total failure next year.
> But when you have those three *and* Carter *and* Borders *and* White,
> and no real depth to replace any of them (not that I know of, at
> least...  Unless Domingo Martinez is able to play the OF?), the
> probability of catastrophic loss at *some* position is pretty high.
> 
> Veterans are nice, I suppose, and sometimes you can get a true bargain
> performance (see Dave Winfield last year).  But they are in some ways
> a disaster waiting to happen (see the Red Sox last year).

I would love nothing better than for the veterans on the Jays to falter and the
Yankees come in second or first.  But in order for the Yankees to contend,
Steinbrenner has got to let the team gel without his influence.  That, I
believe, is the main problem.
 
JP