Boomer
Wow! David Wells. I admit this one caught me by surprise when I first read about them talking a few days ago. This is an interesting signing, could go either way.
He is going to be 42 for most of the “05” season and 43 for most of “06”. There are just not very many pitchers (or players in general) who can continue to contribute at a high level in the Major Leagues at that age. He’s been known to have back problems as well. On the other hand, he has shown no signs of slowing down and is still pitching an average of 200 innings a season.
He’s been known to “have problems” with management, teammates, and fans in the past. We managed to win a World Series this year with a few guys who have annoyed management and teammates, and a few other guys who are just plain nuts, will one more nut be one nut too many? Don’t know, although my guess is probably not.
He has come up with some big pitching performances in key situations, including playoff games, in particular with the Yanks in the “03” post season, although he was also forced to leave game 5 of the WS after just one inning because of the back.
When he’s not pitching FOR the Yankees, he’s thrown pretty well against them. And let’s face it, although we’re no longer afraid of the Yankees, we still have to respect them. They will always be a factor in our quest for the championship. AND, no matter what, we will always love to beat them.
He’s been an innings eater and is usually very efficient with his pitches. He throws strikes, although when he’s off he gets hit hard.
He has professed a hatred for pitching at Fenway, although he has pitched much better there recently, as opposed to earlier in his career. He is on record as saying that when they finally decided to blow the place up, he wanted to be the one to press the button. He better hope he’s not in there pitching when that button gets pressed.
A lot is being made about the fact that we finally got the lefty we were missing from the rotation. I don’t think that’s a big deal. After all, we won the whole damn thing this year without a lefty in the rotation. What’s more important is the quality of the pitcher, not what side he throws from.
He’s coming pretty cheaply (in baseball terms) for what he might possibly bring with him. And since a lot of the contract is incentive laden, if he doesn't bring it with him, we don't have to pay him. He’s definitely a very good replacement for Lowe (again, assuming he can continue to pitch the way he has the last few years). This gives us a little more money to spend at shortstop.
The Nation loves to hate him, but I suspect if he pitches the way he has been, he will quickly become a fan favorite. I admit, I was one of those Wells haters, but he’s one of us now, so I’ll be rooting for him just as hard as I root for the rest of them.
One of the very few mistakes that Theo has made, was signing Mendoza after Cashman let him go. Although this is a little different (Cashman let him go a year ago, he wasn’t hurt, and he had a good year in between), I can’t help but think of that Mendoza deal when I think of this.
But then again, that Yankee karma is gone now, the tables seemed to have turned, and things now seem to go our way instead of theirs.
Welcome Boomer, we can never have enough Idiots around here.
Let’s hope Matt Mantei fully recovers from his shoulder surgery and manages to stay healthy, because if he does, he will be a HUGE boost to the bullpen. It’s also a lot to be hoping for though.
He is going to be 42 for most of the “05” season and 43 for most of “06”. There are just not very many pitchers (or players in general) who can continue to contribute at a high level in the Major Leagues at that age. He’s been known to have back problems as well. On the other hand, he has shown no signs of slowing down and is still pitching an average of 200 innings a season.
He’s been known to “have problems” with management, teammates, and fans in the past. We managed to win a World Series this year with a few guys who have annoyed management and teammates, and a few other guys who are just plain nuts, will one more nut be one nut too many? Don’t know, although my guess is probably not.
He has come up with some big pitching performances in key situations, including playoff games, in particular with the Yanks in the “03” post season, although he was also forced to leave game 5 of the WS after just one inning because of the back.
When he’s not pitching FOR the Yankees, he’s thrown pretty well against them. And let’s face it, although we’re no longer afraid of the Yankees, we still have to respect them. They will always be a factor in our quest for the championship. AND, no matter what, we will always love to beat them.
He’s been an innings eater and is usually very efficient with his pitches. He throws strikes, although when he’s off he gets hit hard.
He has professed a hatred for pitching at Fenway, although he has pitched much better there recently, as opposed to earlier in his career. He is on record as saying that when they finally decided to blow the place up, he wanted to be the one to press the button. He better hope he’s not in there pitching when that button gets pressed.
A lot is being made about the fact that we finally got the lefty we were missing from the rotation. I don’t think that’s a big deal. After all, we won the whole damn thing this year without a lefty in the rotation. What’s more important is the quality of the pitcher, not what side he throws from.
He’s coming pretty cheaply (in baseball terms) for what he might possibly bring with him. And since a lot of the contract is incentive laden, if he doesn't bring it with him, we don't have to pay him. He’s definitely a very good replacement for Lowe (again, assuming he can continue to pitch the way he has the last few years). This gives us a little more money to spend at shortstop.
The Nation loves to hate him, but I suspect if he pitches the way he has been, he will quickly become a fan favorite. I admit, I was one of those Wells haters, but he’s one of us now, so I’ll be rooting for him just as hard as I root for the rest of them.
One of the very few mistakes that Theo has made, was signing Mendoza after Cashman let him go. Although this is a little different (Cashman let him go a year ago, he wasn’t hurt, and he had a good year in between), I can’t help but think of that Mendoza deal when I think of this.
But then again, that Yankee karma is gone now, the tables seemed to have turned, and things now seem to go our way instead of theirs.
Welcome Boomer, we can never have enough Idiots around here.
Let’s hope Matt Mantei fully recovers from his shoulder surgery and manages to stay healthy, because if he does, he will be a HUGE boost to the bullpen. It’s also a lot to be hoping for though.
posted by Bob at 12/11/2004 01:38:00 PM
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