The Yankees still have a hole in the rotation in the #5 spot if you aren’t considering Phil Hughes. I think Hughes would be a great #5 starter, but some people are upset about that. Many think they should either bring in Pettitte, (which I’m not against) or sign/trade for another starting pitcher. Oliver Perez is still on the FA market, and some believe that he would be a nice fit in the Yankees rotation. I don’t want him. Phil Hughes will be out of the picture then, because there won’t be anymore spots in the rotation for him. That makes no sense at all. This is a guy who we drafted #1 back in ’04, and we passed on Johan because of him. I’m not bitter about not getting Johan at all…I’m just upset that people are giving up on him. I was one of the people who wanted to keep Hughes. Cashman has stood by Hughes, so I just don’t see Perez coming to the Yankees UNLESS they move Joba back to the pen. Then..and only then would that make sense.
As of now..Joba is a starter until Cashman says different. Even if Joba is moved to the bullpen, I would still rather have Pettitte over Perez. Ollie has a 4+ career ERA in the NL, 1.42 career WHIP, and he walks way to many batters.(105BB- most in the majors!) Oliver can be filthy when he’s on, but he is way to inconsistent. The Yankee fans would eat him up and spit him out.
“Putting Perez on the Yankees would be a great move,” says one top pitching evaluator. “That would be the perfect environment for him. He would be more focused there. He needs strong leadership around him, and pitching in front of a packed house, he would not be complacent.”
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Kevin Rozell
M. B. Rozell
Ray Rothfeldt
Eduardo Perez
Dear God no Perez PLEASE. The only thing that scares me more is an old, overweight Andrew Jones running around in center next year.
Couldn’t agree more. People need to get over the rough spots Kennedy and Hughes had last year and focus on two numbers alone….23 and 24…their ages. To put it perspective Paplebon, the “sawks” boy-wonder was 25 before he started to play everyday in the bigs. Pro scouts use the phrase “if I’ve seen it more than once form a kid I can see it all the time” to convey the message that given time a player can be what you expect them to be so don’t bail on them too soon. Yankees fans should apply this to Hughes and Kennedy (then Brackman, Sanchez and Jackson).
No way, Pettite and Perez are not the answer. They should have spent money on Lowe instead of Burnett and then there wouldn’t be a problem.
Tom
http://thetradersarena.today.com