SU asks: “At what point do the Yankees say enough is enough?” Lots of rumors flying around that the Yankees were kicking the tires to trade for Manny Machado. The Orioles realize they will lose him after this season and want to get something for him now in the way of prospects and younger players. Well, the Yankees have lots of those guys including Didi, Gleyber Torres and some other top tier prospects.
SU says bad idea. It’s one thing if you are operating from weakness and you are desperate to add a Machado who is no doubt a superstar and as some on this blog like to say, a “once in a generation player.” But the Yankees don’t need him – they don’t need more offense. They have Torres who is 21 years old and is supposed to be the real deal. As a fan, let’s find out if he is. As a fan, blend together your stars with younger players. The Yankees have Torres, Torreyes, Tyler Wade, Andujar and then some even younger players coming up behind them. I would love to see these guys be given a shot to compete for a job and then see them struggle, overcome and flourish. When you have a bunch of sluggers already, you can afford to do that. And that is the key as soon enough Sanchez, Judge and Didi will be free agents and you won’t have enough payroll to keep them all. Of course, don’t forget your pitching is already sub-standard and needs an upgrade at the starter position.
The Yankees are rumored to be looking at Brandon Drury on the D’Backs who can play multiple infield positions. SU is not familiar with him but would prefer to give the prospects a chance. Cashman always likes the “workman like, grind it out” players like Chase Headley. It sounds like he is in that mode. Boring. Show some confidence in your own youngsters.
SU hopes that Cashman is only trying to drive the purchase price up for Machado in case some team like the Red Sox are in the mix. Of course, the Red Sox tried to bean him last year so you wonder if he would want to play there.
Hot stove baseball is unlike any other sport in the off season. Always fun for the fans.
Latest Trey Burke update: averaging 26 points, 6 assists a game; shooting 51% from the field and 46% from 3-point range. Unreal that he is not back in the NBA. As a subscriber of the NBA Season Pass, SU sees the quality of point guard around the League. No wonder some teams are always terrible. GMs have no clue.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Can we give back Stanton and go after Machado? I agree that there’s no reason to pursue him now because they don’t need offense. But they could have used a 3B more than an OF. The delta between Machado as Todd Frazier is much much bigger than the delta between Stanton and Judge or Stanton and Sanchez. I am beginning to wonder if Cashmen went to the same seminar as Jerry Reese where they learned to spend money improving strengths while ignoring weaknesses. This is the same seminar where they learned that management should let players dictate the clubhouse atmosphere and rules. I hope the results are different.
One note of caution, Machado plays a ton of games when he’s healthy but has had season-ending knee injuries twice.
Also, do they really want another right handed hitter?
We should wait and see if he becomes a free agent. Then we don’t have to give away part of the house. We really should be focusing on 1-2 starting pitchers…. at least one solid #2 or #1 and then LETS PLAY BALL. Though we don’t need him I’d love to see Bentances gain his mental form back and then trade him. He is form the Chuck Knoblach school… which can be scary.
Hopefully the Giants tank the rest of the season and pick up a worthy QB/…. and the all offensive linemen. Is Brandon Marshall returning?
Its now time for the Knicks to build themselves up to 7-10 games over 500 by the middle of February. Only 1 win on the road is horrible…. probably the worst in the league.
Looking forward to reading SUs fond farewell to Mike Francesa. I will miss his show. I didn’t really care for his style or his opinions but found his show highly entertaining.
Also, Carmelo Anthony’s homecoming is tonight. Wondering how he will be received. I’d hate to see the crowd boo him because he’s likable enough and played hard for the Knicks. The problem has always been his game it’s not his fault that multiple general managers have overvalued his impact over the years. His presence made the the Knicks worse for more than 6 seasons. And, while I haven’t watched any OKC games, I imagine he’s making them worse as well. (Checked stats for Westbrook and George and both of them are scoring fewer points while playing more minutes than they have in recent seasons. More sophisticated statisticians or regular viewers may correct me but this seems to be further evidence confirming that Anthony’s game is a net negative to the players around him.)