Sunday, January 4, 2009

PINCH HITTING ON LOHUD

Today I am featured on Pete Abe's Blog.
I am taking my share of bashing. Check out the comment thread to see what I'm talking about.l
I will be more than happy to answer every one of you on THIS comment thread.
Here is the link.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/01/04/pinch-hitting-sam-i-am/

33 comments:

abie said...

First off, way to be a man and be anonymous!

Second, unless your willing to sponsor this is what a free blog looks like..

Finally, don't be hating on me for growing hair on my chest..just because your still waiting for puberty to kick in don't take it out on everybody else...

Anonymous said...

Man you got slammed on PeteAbe's blog. But then again you sort of sum up the obtuse, stubborn, hypocritical Yankee fan that gives knowledgeable Yankee fans a bad name.

The web site is very amateurish. Nice spelling on the Jays GM "Richardy"- it's really Ricciardi (but then again credibility never really seemed like something you were going for).

I also like this one: "With Bill Cowher now off the list for the NY Jets Head Coach here is the my top list for the job:"

... Nice work with the grammar. I know college isn't for everyone, but if you want to post on intelligent blogs, you might want to brush up on the writing.

Sam I am NOT!

Coach said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coach said...

1. Trading Mike Lowell for nothing. Why would you need a 3B prospect when in 1998 Scott Brosius was named World Series MVP. Also, you know who had basically IDENTICAL numbers (in 50 less at bats) in Columbus in 1998, the catcher, Mike Figga. Man, fire Cashman for blowing that one too. I'd also rather Lowell than that Rodriguez guy, and too bad Aaron Boone never hit any important home runs while he was the third baseman.
2. The Yankees bullpen was amazing in 2001, their ERA+ was only 145. As one person, that would be 5th in the majors in 2001. Of course Cashman thought he could trade a failed starter with injury history for a bench upgrade.
3. Weaver and Lilly had nearly identical stats in 2002, however Weaver was a more highly touted prospect. Never mind Cash traded Irabu for Lilly a season prior, so if you think about Jeff Weaver's potential versus Irabu's bust, I think Cash did an OK job.
4. Trading for a Brown, who had an ERA+ of 169 the year previous is a done deal. Johan's ERA+ in his last season in Minnesota was 133.
2003 Stats
Sheffield
HR: 39
RBI: 132
AVG: .330
OPS: 1.023
'03 salary: $11M
vs.
Vlad
HR: 25
RBI: 79
AVG: .330
OPS: 1.012
'03 salary: $11.5M
I think you can see where Cash was coming from with this one.
5. Blue Chip Nick Johnson 0 All Star Appearances Juan Rivera 0 All Star Appearances for Javy Vazquez 1 All Star Appearance in his first season as a Yankee. Forget the HR in the Sox series, he is not a reliever.
You also can not control what another team accepts for a trade. There is no way to say that the Diamondbacks would have traded 38 Pitches for those two "blue chippers"
6. Pavano had just thrown 423 in the past two years, was an all star in his walk year and got CY Young votes in his walk year and was only 28. I think every GM would want that arm on their team.
Jaret Wright's 2004 season: 15-8 186 IP 159K 70BB 3.28ERA. Again, someone I want on my team.
7. Randy Johnson in 2004: 2.60 ERA 0.90 WHIP 290 K in 245 IP. 1990-2004 there were 3 years where he pitched less than 200 innings. Who wants that? Especially for Vazquez, who put up a 6+ era after the All-Star break, even though his first half garnered him an all-star bid.
8. Johan had an ERA+ of 133 in his last season in Minnesota, never mind CC's was 142 and won the CY Young that year. If you think that on the overall, including defense Miguel Cabrera is a more valuable player than Mark Teixeira, then there is no logic in that. A Gold Glove 1B who has virtually identical stats or a converted 3B who has weight/motivation issues at 25. CC + Teixiera + Hughes is far better than Johan and Cabrera. Also, based on the Cabrera package, the Yankees didn't have the prospects to get that done.

Do you have to be convinced that signing the player with the best tools in the game to a long deal? You are the same kind of guy that would say, I can't believe the Yankees let A-Rod walk and signed (insert Joe Crede or some other lackluster 3B here).

The Mets drafted Aaron Heilman in front of David Wright and every other team in the majors also passed on him. Let's also kill Cashman for not drafting Pujols since he lasted to the 13th round. The only GM to not see his potential is Cash, so let's blame him. I guess CMW is a toss away player that was signed and the farm system that Baseball America ranked as the #5 system in the MLB.

You certainly had an interesting article, even though it lacked any logic and was complete hindsight.

Ross said...

Sam, you are entitled to your opinion - that is what blogs are for.

However, leading with that wannabe-model, douchetastic photo and then writing a post living up to the stereotype of the "typical Yankee fan" you deserve all of the criticism you are receiving.

As for the bad move Cashman made in re-signing A-Rod... Who should he have signed to play 3rd base last year?

Ross said...

Ahhh, I just saw that you recommended Miguel Cabrera as the answer.

So, you wanted him to trade for Miguel Cabrera and Johan Santana?

Instead, he re-signed A-Rod and signed Sabathia. The Yankees have unlimited money - they don't have unlimited prospects as trade chips. What an asinine argument.

Anonymous said...

It's pretty easy to look back on some of Cashman's deals and call them stupid, but at the time many of them looked good. If you're gonna post something that is going to stir up controversy try getting all your facts straight and focus on both sides of the story. How about the signing of Mussina or Matsui? What about getting Nady, Marte, Justice or Molina? And while it is easy to have reservations about Burnett, how can you completely bash the signing before he has even thrown a pitch? Santana is a great pitcher but Sabathia is ranked right up there with him and we didnt have to trade away the farm for him. Teixeira and Cabrera dont even compare. Tex is better defensively and Cabrera, at the time when Detroit got him, didnt even play first base so why would the Yanks have gone after him? We had our third basemen. Speaking of which...A-Rod may not have done much in the playoffs in 07 (or any year really) but you cant say he crippled us that year. Jeter, Posada, and Matsui did nothing that series. The only one who really did much of anything was Damon, who you say is another one of Cash's mistakes. Wang pitched terribly. We wouldnt have even got there if it wasnt for A-Rod and I agree with James, you definitely would have whined if we let this three time league MVP walk. While I have been one to criticize A-Rod lets not get crazy and blame him for every series the Yankees have lost since he arrived. Face it...they are a better team with him then without.

Unknown said...

i dont understand what gives people the notion to verbally abuse a guy on his own blog? what is wrong with you people...if u dont agree then fine but relax save your hatred for really evil people out there- not a fellow sports fan! sheesh

Anonymous said...

Just because this is a free blog site, doesn't mean you have the right to write poorly.

I find it humorous that you responded to the anonymous post but have yet to speak your mind on Becca's or Jame's post. Both make some valid points. For some reason I am curious to read what you have to say about them.

abie said...

i am posting on sams behalf..he said that he will respond to all criticisms either later today or tomorrow..he is currently working and tracking all of this by phone...so please check back either later today or tomorrow to see his response as he is eager to prove you all wrong

Coach said...

Tomorrow, no one from Pete's blog will be here and no one will care. Any "proving us wrong" will be worthless. Too bad he isn't here, he lost the chance to create any heat he could. I guess I may come back just to find the link to "Baseball Prospectis"and "Baseball Refrence" since my links to Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Reference don't work.

I was anxious to get into a debate, but oh well.

abie said...

check back at 815pm...

Anonymous said...

Your post was terrible. Really. I mean use some facts man. As a sportswriter you have to mention both sides of an argument and then compare both sides in order to explain why your opinion is correct. The thing is...you didn't do that. I particularly enjoyed where you said that you'd rather have Miggy Cabrera and Johan than CC an Tex. Let's see an overweight, one-dimensional, poor fielding, cocky 1st baseman or a polished, gold glove winning, in shape first baseman? I can see why you'd like Johan better than CC based on stats, but it's a baseball team. An assortment of people, not stats. And a guy like CC who yelled at his agents for trying to get him out of pitching every 3 days down the stretch, a guy who carried his team into the playoffs, a guy who is consistently referred to as the nicest guy in baseball, a guy who always wants the ball, a guy who won the Cy Young award in 07, and would have won it in either league this season if he hadn't been traded midseason, a guy who has stats really similar to Johan's is a pretty valuable part of a team. Also, by signing these free agents instead of trading for Miggy and Johan, we kept Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Brett Gardner, Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances, Austin Romine, and Mark Melancon. I think your post kindof exemplifies why you are in sales and not sportswriting. Also, I love the maturity of your retaliation. Look, you are entitled to your opinions, but just please never go on LoHud ever again. Actually, could you not ever comment or post or anything on LoHud, RAB, 6 pound 8 ounce baby joba, Bronx Banter, Was Watching, Pinstripe Alley, or any of those sites that are reliable?

Peter Lacock said...

Terrible job on Lohud. Very simple minded and amateur.

abie said...

keep in mind that he was limited in # of words and even the ones he submitted were revised

Anonymous said...

Do Yankee fans everywhere a favor a go become a Red Sox fan.

Anonymous said...

Good thing it was revised. Judging by this blog there were most likely many errors with his post.

max N.

Why are people bashing him on his own blog? Because he posted a really bad analysis as a guest post on the LoHud blog and then didn't have the balls to respond to the criticism on there. All he posted was an invitation to come bash him here.... and so people are.

Anonymous said...

Seriously man, I'm humiliated for you after reading that. It's like when someone gets told for the first time they're really ugly (you are), or not that bright (double this). You clearly thought you actually had something worthwhile to say. Cringeworthy and pathetically simple minded. Kind of sad. I won't respond to your points because they're not worth the drool you likely released while creating them.

Potch said...

The limited number of words doesn't enter into that there were incorrect facts. SJ on Peter's blog put it best, fact check before you write. We're not dumb, we will notice mistakes.

Here, on Sam's blog, he is entitled to his own opinion. When he is guesting on someone else's blog, he is entitled to an INFORMED opinion. He could have easily written about the same thing, within the word count, and had half the flaming if there not such egregious errors in fact.

Anonymous said...

Sam,

I run the media. You will never work for me.

You write like an angry 12 year old who takes Mike Francesa's word as gospel.

Anonymous said...

Max N.

By having your own blog and then guest blogging on an extremely popular website you are subjecting yourself to criticism. He has the right to his opinion as do I. I am not really into the whole name-calling stuff though. I think that is rude and if you disagree you should at least say why instead of tossing out curses and stuff like that. That actually makes the criticizer look unintelligent when they are trying to make Sam look dumb. I may disagree with him and also think that he should have made sure all of his facts were right before posting but I at least can respect him unlike the name callers.

Anonymous said...

lol, it's 8:54

MSR said...

sam, post your original blog before it was edited.

Anonymous said...

it's being edited, lol

Anonymous said...

where's abie, the press secretary????

Anonymous said...

LOL. This is probably as busy as this site will EVER get. He probably had more hits today than in the past three months. WOW.

Horrible, BTW.

Anonymous said...

I was just looking back at some of this clown's posts. First off, he needs to learn how to spell and punctuate. Second, he has the nerve to say Cashman is awful, yet last offseason he was campaigning for the Yanks to sign Andruw Jones. lol

Jeff said...

I'm not so sure you have the right idea of Cashman. A lot of those previous deals were what I call "Steinbrenner Deals." After game 7 of the 2001 World Series, George Steinbrenner said "Things are going to change." After that, he started getting these aging overpriced players that you speak of. One of Cashman's duties is to take the wrap for any and all mistakes made by the Steinbrenners. That's why he gets paid the big bucks. And because he's a Yankee.

I was unaware of Sardinha being drafted over David Wright. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that our team already had Arod and he was looking for outfield prospects. In my opinion, Cashman has done a good job as General Manager. When you manage the highest payroll and winningest organization, it's pretty hard to get the appreciation that you deserve. If he spends money and wins a championship, everyone will hate on him and make the lame excuse that he bought a championship. And if he falls short of winning a World Series, people start saying that it's impossible to fuck up with that kind of payroll and that he's a terrible GM. The reason why baseball is my favorite sport is because there is never a guarantee. In sports like basketball and football, you don't see the same number of upsets. In baseball, prospects are just as good as money. While the Marlins may have one of the lowest payrolls, their farm system is among the best. Essentially, you could say they are one of the wealthiest teams if you consider these prospects assets.

In summation, don't hate on Cashman for bad moves made by the Steinbrenners. -Jeff
http://gardnerformvp.mlblogs.com

Anonymous said...

Sam,

This is why you are a salesman and not a sports writer. You need to check your facts. Sure Arod is the whipping boy, but for 3 yrs in a row he has had a better fielding pct then Wright. for 2 out of the 3 yrs he has had more HRs and RBIs. As far as clutch, baseball statistics didn't have RISP which shocked me, but I am sure Wright has better numbers. But how many more runs did Wright cost the mets in errors then Arod? I researched it, and Wright errors led to many more runs then ARod.

Then you state that Cashman traded away all the youth, and at the same time you blast him for not trading the youth for Johan when this years free agent crop was tremendous.

You also say Cashman has not drafted anyone other then Joba. What about Cano? To give up on Hughes right now is crazy. Glavine started his career 9-21 and he wont 300 games.

Finally, your boy Abie states "unless you are willing to sponsor, this is what a free blog looks like". Well my blog has sponsor, none of which pay me in anything other than cigars. I do all the work myself, and I took the time to teach myself CSS and edited and tweaked my blog to look somewhat professional. In fact it has gotten me a writing gig for a major cigar magazine. So do not hide behind this is a free blog.

I am sure you feel bad getting blasted like this, but when you chose to write a blog without fact checking and without research you invited it.

But a blog is about an opinion, so continue to post, and continue to speak your mind. Just keep in mind the educated individual will be there to blast you if you are wrong.

Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

Some of these responses are juvenile and despicable. I'm sorry that you have to deal with this situation.. it must suck.

Personally I did not agree with your blog but not in such a way that I felt the need to flip my lid and go apeshit like a lot of these posters ( I think they may have a bit too much time on their hands).

If you want some constructive criticism, I think it might've helped to mention some positives with a few of your points. I get the feeling you knew that there was more to the story than what you were writing, but that you omitted those facts because they didn't back up your points. This doesn't really help your argument in that when you're writing for an audience of die-hard yankee fans, they know the truth, just as I bet you do. Presenting both sides of the argument will be more effective. Even with a strict word count, maybe just lose some of the lesser points. It's worth it to be fair and balanced. Also, please cut off your scrotum and never have any babies.

Anonymous said...

The criticism you're receiving for the post is deserved. The personal attacks are a bit extreme though. However, despite all of it, you certainly got a lot of attention for your blog, so whatever you did, it certainly worked.

Anonymous said...

Although from different places, but this perception is consistent, which is relatively rare point!

Anonymous said...

Although we have differences in culture, but do not want is that this view is the same and I like that!
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