Just heard about this trade. So far all I know is it was for a minor league pitcher. More info as I get it.
Damn Yankees buy whoever they want. This is what is wrong with baseball. If you live in Pittsburgh or Milwaukee, why bother cheering? The season is over before your team hits the field, because a championship is not even realistic.
Monday, July 1 First-place Yanks fill outfield hole with Mondesi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services BOSTON -- The New York Yankees acquired outfielder Raul Mondesi from the Toronto Blue Jays for a minor league pitcher Monday night, hoping the slumping slugger can give them production in a position that's been lagging this season. The AL East-leading Yankees, already topping the majors in homers and runs scored, have failed to find a replacement for the retired right fielder Paul O'Neill. Shane Spencer and John Vander Wal have not hit as well as expected while playing in right, and Rondell White has not done as well as anticipated in left. Mondesi, 31, has hit at least 24 home runs in seven straight years. He has 15 homers and 45 RBI this season, but is batting only .224. Mondesi is a strong defensive player, known for an exceptional arm. Last week, he criticized new Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca after being benched. "Our outfield has been depleted and when Joe (manager Torre) needs something, I'm going to do everything I can to get it for him,'' Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. "And the way our fans are supporting us day after day, I've got to step forward for them, too.'' On Sunday, the Yankees placed six players on the All-Star team. The only position where they didn't have an All-Star was the outfield. There had been talk for a while the Yankees were shopping for a star outfielder. Mondesi had been mentioned as a possible candidate, along with Florida's Cliff Floyd and Colorado's Larry Walker. Toronto's Shannon Stewart and Jose Cruz Jr. also had been suggested. Yankees president Randy Levine said the trade for Mondesi ''happened rather quickly, over the last few days.'' ''He gives us a presence in right field that we presently do not have,'' Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. Wiggins, 26, was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 23 relief appearances for Double-A Norwich. The lefty was the Yankees' seventh-round pick in the 1997 draft. The Yankees have reached the World Series in five of the last six years, helped by the midseason acquisitions of stars such as David Justice, Jose Canseco, Cecil Fielder, Sterling Hitchcock and Denny Neagle. The Yankees began the season with a $126 million payroll, the highest in the majors, and this latest deal is sure to renew cries across baseball that their spending is out of control. ''The transaction is fair to everybody. We acted in good faith and solved some of the needs for everybody,'' Levine said. Mondesi is making $11 million this year. The Yankees will pay roughly $5.5-6 million of that -- the prorated salary for the remainder of the season -- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has learned. He is due $13 million next season -- the Yankees will pay $7 million and the Blue Jays will be responsible for $6 million. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said the Yankees were the only team to call about Mondesi. He also said no other Toronto players were discussed. "They called us Saturday to see if we were willing to move him. The ball was in their court, having to pick up the salary,'' Ricciardi said. ''We're obviously rebuilding Toronto and this helps us keep going in the right direction. It gives us an opportunity to save a lot of money.'' Stark was told from a baseball official that this was almost entirely a money move made by Jays president Paul Godfrey and Yanks president Randy Levine. It benefits the Jays, who free up more than $12 million to address other issues. The Yankees were off Monday and the deal was made before the Blue Jays played Boston. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tell that to the Twins and the Expos. The Twins went through this last year and eventually fell apart and were passed by the $80MM Cleveland Indians. They also are playing in a horribly weak division where the only good team decided to slash away their team over the offseason (Cleveland). In terms of record, there are *5* teams better than them in the AL. The Expos are 8 games out of first and would require a significant collapse by the Braves to get back in that race. A better example would be the Oakland A's or the Houston Astros - at least they are perennial contenders. Nevertheless, these teams are still at a significant disadvantage. If the Expos do make the race close, the Braves will just go and buy some more players.
Awww, da mean ole Yankees don't pway fair. They have mo muney dan da rest of da teams. Boo-friggin-hoo! The players still have to go out and play ball. Anyway, how can you fault the Yankee's for making a trade??? If you should be mad at anyone it should be Toronto. Personally I would have rather seen my highschool teammate, Jose Cruz Jr. in pinstripes.
I'm not mad at the Yankees... they're just using the current rules of MLB's salary cap to the best of their advantage... its the salary cap rules themselves that need to go! i really like what football has done with revenue sharing, rather than individual tv contracts per team... the surprise that any team could make a run to the championship is so much more intriguing than entering a season knowing the same handful of teams will probably be in the playoffs and that 1/4 of the league has no chance at all to be competitive.
Come on Pimp, you don't really believe that do you? That's like two drivers racing-one has a corvette, the other a Yugo-and the driver of the corvette saying he doesn't have an advantage because he still has to win the race.
1) There is no salary cap in baseball. If I misread that, then I apologize, but that is one of the reasons why baseball seems to strike every 3 years. 2) This just in - Raul Mondesi AIN'T that good! Yea, yea, I know some of you like Pimp will say that I'm saying this because I'm a Red Sox fan, but really Mondesi is overrated and overpaid. I mean, come on, who do you think got the better of the deal between the Dodgers and Blue Jays with Mondesi and Shawn Green?? Besides, the only player I want the Sox to get is Jim Thome. God, he would help them so much. However, it won't matter because 1) The Sox will choke like they always do (they just love breaking my heart but they won't do it this time because I won't be expecting it) 2) there will be another strike after this season and if that happens, I would like to change my BBS user name (probably just to Manny) because I do not wish to be associated with such babies and spoiled jerks like the MLB players.
"2) This just in - Raul Mondesi AIN'T that good! Yea, yea, I know some of you like Pimp will say that I'm saying this because I'm a Red Sox fan, but really Mondesi is overrated and overpaid. I mean, come on, who do you think got the better of the deal between the Dodgers and Blue Jays with Mondesi and Shawn Green?? Besides, the only player I want the Sox to get is Jim Thome. God, he would help them so much. " Too bad the Yankees are getting a cheaper Mondesi (13.5-14 for a year and a half...exactly a half, as the Yanks played game 81 on Sunday)I think he'll get a high BA for the Yankees with some heavy...heavy protection in the lineup.
Mondesi will put up better numbers, namely batting average, in NY than he did in Toronto - partially due to the change in scenery, partially due to the improved batting lineup he will be in. However, Mondesi is an overrated player - probably because he's so overpaid. I think the Yanks would've been better served by standing pat until Juan Rivera was healthy, at least for the future, but it probably doesn't matter that much. I read somewhere today that the rest of the Yanks' schedule features teams with a combined record of 21 games under .500 or something like that - essentially, a bunch of creampuffs. Even if the Red Sox make a move, I'm not sure it'll be enough to keep up with the Yanks and that sort of schedule. This past series versus the Braves really hurt them a lot, though Pedro's performance tonight has to give Red Sox's fans hope of the return of the most dominant pitcher in baseball for the 2nd half. Thome would help them a lot. Even without Thome...a decent 1b would be an improvement over Tony Clark.
I totally agree with you about Mondesi being overrated. But I also think that this is the problem with the Yankees -- they not only can throw money around, but can afford to make big-money mistakes like this, or the Rondell White or Sterling Hitchcock signings. A similar maneuver would hamstring the A's, for example (and yes, I thought David Justice was a bad idea!). It's not enough that the Yankees are good; they can also screw up from time to time and it won't affect them a bit. Imagine if the NYC advantage worked for the Knicks as it does for the Yankees. They could sign Sprewell, Houston, Eisley, Shandon, et al. to absurd contracts, and if they don't work out ... so what. Just get more players. You want Baron Davis? He's yours. You want Gary Payton to back him up? Yours too. Want to take a flyer on Greg Ostertag for a MAX contract? Go ahead. If it doesn't work, there's plenty more money where that came from. There's no premium on the intelligence and creativity of the GM -- just money. I think this is the reason the Yankees really inspire such universal venom almost everywhere outside NYC.
Actually I agree with you Manny. Mondesi is overrated and overpaid at this point. Mondesi is no superstar, but that isn't what the Yankees need. They aquired him because he is a good outfielder with the potential to carry a big stick. If he can up his batting average 30-50 points to the .250-.270 area you can't deny this was a great move towards replacing the retired Paul O'Neil. Also, RM95 if the Yankees are the Corvette and the Expos are the Yugo what does that make the Astros....a Hyundai?
The Yankees inspire (nearly) universal venom (I happen to like them, and I liked them before they even started winning), because they win all of the time. If they had a bloated payroll but were perrenial losers like the Rex Sux and Dodgers, no one would give two sh!ts what their salaries were.
From Jayson Stark: "For the Yankees, this was more a corporate acquisition by Yankees Inc. than it was a classic baseball trade. They're one of the few teams that can take on money this time of year. And they used that clout to the max -- as always." This pretty much sums up why the Yankee$ represent what is wrong with baseball.
If you look at alot of teams the homegrown talent is few and far between. I remember back in the day when teams used to develop talent through the minor leagues, and then take pride in showcasing it. Nowadays, the good teams have a "win now" attitude, and could care less about homegrown talent. The Astros have the best farm system in baseball bar none. These guys have all grown up or spent time in their system: Berkman, Bagwell, Biggio, Reynolds, Oswalt, Miller, Wagner, Lugo, Ensberg, Ward, and Hidalgo.
I guess the Yankees have the perfect combo of homegrown talent (Soriano, Rivera, Jeter, Williams, Petite) and free agent acquisitions (Giambi, Mondesi, Ventura, Clemens, Cone)... The 'Stros have the homegrown talent, but not the money to spend on FA's The Rangers spend all the money in the world on FA's, but have literally NO homegrown talent! As much as I hate the Yankees, I have to give them credit for playing the system right.
