Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Rich Get Richer

Yikes. Javier Vazquez to the Yankees for Melky and prospects. Vazquez is in final year of contract, getting paid a reasonable $11.5. Melky due ~$3 million in arbitration. Arodys Vizcaino has ace-potential, but is very far from the majors (he just turned 19). The other prospect is mediocre.

The Yanks rotation is now the best in baseball with Sabathia, Vazquez, Burnett, Pettitte, and Sabathia (assuming Hughes, not CC, winds up in the pen). Geez, the team is going to be really, really good this year. 105 wins? Melky is pretty much interchangeable with Brett Gardner, and since CF is filled, neither is really essential to the team. But, he's a decent cheap addition for the Braves, who could use some outfield depth while they're waiting for Schafer and Heyward to develop.

I'm reaching to find a negative spin for the Yanks, but Vazquez is a flyball pitcher, which is a bad fit for New Yankee Stadium.

Gorgeous Pictures of Old Yankee and Old Shea Stadiums

The Out-of-Town-Scoreboard, made obsolete for a time by B.O.O.T.S.
Phil Rizzuto, blowin shit up.
Not sure whom to credit, but it's from this thread, where many, many more senses-shattering shots of NYC in the 70s can be found.