Here's the perverse world of baseball economics - there's a pretty good chance that that event improved the Yankees offseason. With an unlimited budget the Yankees have a pretty good chance of replacing Boone with someone who is better. I don't know who that would be but there's a pretty good chance that George will open the vault so that Enrique Wilson is not the opening day starter. Oh well.

I don't think there's anyone still on the market who's as good or better than Boone and can play 3B. They'll have to make a trade for a third baseman, which might mean trading their best (and only decent) prospect: catcher Dioner Navarro. Let's hope it happens exactly that way.

I'm cheering for Homer Bush to get the Yankees' third base job. For several reasons.

If they lose Boone for the year this really hurts the Yankees. The farm system is so depleted and their options of guys available are limited. Beltre might be an option if the Dodgers want to ditch him but I agree with Robert in hoping that they have to move Navarro.

Or maybe they could move Sheffield to third; that could be entertaining.

http://economics.about.com
If they lose Boone for the year this really hurts the Yankees. The farm system is so depleted and their options of guys available are limited. Beltre might be an option if the Dodgers want to ditch him but I agree with Robert in hoping that they have to move Navarro.

I think it's more likely that the Yankees will be able to pick up someone decent (though not spectacular), if they're also willing to take a team's millstone contract. The one problem is that we're in a period where there are very few decent 3rd baseman.

How about Wes Helms and Craig Counsell's overpriced carcass for Enrique Wilson and/or Erick Almonte + some C level prospects?

Cheers,

Mike

How about Jeff Cirillo for a bag of balls?

Isn't Tatis still looking for a job? Speaking of Tatis, has anyone noticed his best comps through age 28:

1 Kelly Gruber (966)
2 Ron Cey (956)
3 Butch Hobson (954)
4 Ed Sprague (953)

Regarding the Sportsline article, I ventured to read some of the Sportsline forum comments and found this gem:

[The O's pitching] won't win CY Young awards, but they can hold the line. Don't discount a good team, I'm telling you. Big name pitchers are targets. O's can beat Halladay, Pedro, Schilling, and any pitcher Ynks have in key games and can handle other teams in league.

Heh.

Rotoworld is suggesting the Yanks might look at getting Alfonzo for a song - the Giants would just like to get out from his contract so they can make a run at Maddux

seems plausible

[The O's pitching] won't win CY Young awards, but they can hold the line.

They double as receptionists?

I'd hate to see Fonzie in a Yankees uniform. When he's on, he's a joy to watch. Great attitude, and I really hope the unlikely happens and he gets over his back problems. If he gets dealt to the Yanks, a monster season is inevitable because that's just the way things go (Robin Ventura?).

Shades of Paul Quantrill's smowmobile ride...

If Boone violated specific language in his contract, he doesn't deserve a dime. Maybe he was just washing his truck.

Alfonzo does seem like a logical solution, so this could actually turn out worse for Boston and Toronto fans than if Boone stayed healthy. When you have unlimited resources, there are other options -- Troy Glaus and Corey Koskie will be free agents after this season, and could probably be rented for a high enough price.

I would expect Anaheim and Minnesota to keep Glaus and Koskie for most if not all of 2004. Neither team would appear to be unloading key players anytime soon.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1719255
Two things. First, Boone was hurt TEN days ago. Surprising it took so long for the story to come out. How can they not know the extent of the injury after ten days? Football players know in a day or two. Being in medical school, I should probably know more here--maybe if I didn't spend so much time on this site...

Secondly, there WAS specific "you can't play basketball" language in his contract (COMN for the ESPN story). So as Coach mentioned, looks like 2004's not going to be a profitable one for Boone.

http://me.woot.net
I prefer to use Google News Canada; I was so excited the day I figured out that existed :)

Looking at '03, Fonzie was pretty bad, with no idication of getting better. He basically went from bad month (below .700 OPS) to good month (above .800 OPS) all season long.

Reason #867 why I shouldn't be a GM- I would've signed him coming into '03. I really thought he was poised to be a huge bargain...

Hold the line! Hold the liiiiine!

Rotoworld is suggesting the Yanks might look at getting Alfonzo for a song - the Giants would just like to get out from his contract

Jeez. Sabean really is trying to run the 'Barry Bonds and 8 scrubs' simulation. All our hypotheticals will soon be answered.

Perlhack: Tatis agreed to a non-roster invite with Tampa.

I think the Yanks will take their time on this and wait until Boone's and Henson's contracts are off the books. And I am pretty sure the union will step in and drag this one out, so there may be no quick solution here even if Alfonzo seems like a good fit.

Regardless, this is good news for Jays fans, the Yankees biggest weakness is their lack of depth combined with their brittle roster and losing Boone, even if they try to replace him (you have to give to get) will only further exaggerate the problem. Plus, the fact that it has started before spring training has begun can only be a good omen.

It also doesn't help their defense any.

so they'll likely end up going with someone exceedingly mediocre at 3B...how is that different from sticking w/ Aaron Boone, who's about as mediocre as it gets? this lil problem isn't about to make or break the Yankees'; that's better left to the question of whether the 1-2 punch of Vazquez and Brown can compensate for poor defence and a brittle-veteran-filled roster..

http://economics.about.com
3rd Basemen, ranked by 2003 Runs Above Replacement Position:

Rank	Name	RARP
1	Rolen	57.5
2	Mueller	55.6
3	Chavez	44.6
4	Lowell	41.7
5	Koskie	39.7
6	Blalock	38.1
7	Ensberg	32.2
8	Boone	28.9
9	Ramirez	26.8
10	Bur'ghs	25.8
11	Randa	21.9
12	Helms	20.3
13	Glaus	19.8
14	Cast'a	19.1
15	Alfonzo	18.8
16	Hinske	18.8
17	Wig'ton	16.7
18	Crede	13.9
19	Beltre	13.5
20	Munson	13.2
21	Ventura	13.2
22	Blake	10.6

Aaron Boone isn't a superstar, but 8th in his position in RARP is hardly mediocre.

Cheers,

Mike

I spend half the night trying to figure out who George would buy to replace Boone. I have heard that the Angels are looking to unload either Glaus, Washburn, or Percival; Casey Kotchman will be ready in a year or so. But I don't think the Angels would give Glaus to the Yankees. I thought of guys like Alfonzo, Jose Valentin, David Bell, Vinny Castilla, and Adrian Beltre (perhaps the angels would move Glaus to LA afterwards?), but one name kept sticking out to me--Phil Nevin. If he could be talked into accepting the trade, he could be the guy becuase currently, San Diego has about 6 outfielders--Nevin, Klesko, Giles, Payton, Long, and Xavier Nady in AAA, and if they free Nevin's salary they could sign Maddux. And I think a bag of balls may be overpriced for Cirillo. But maybe there is still some bad blood over the David Wells thing.

I think the Yankees might actually be willing to get creative this time, and put together a platoon or something. We've seen in the past that Cashman has been more than willing to manufacture a leftfielder, rather than buy one. It just may be that the Yankees are going to try to live like the other 29 teams for a while, and respond creatively to an injury.

I see a few possible moves beyond an immediate trade... the Yankees could just sign Jose Hernandez. Or, they could try a platoon of Henson and Wilson, try to keep the position afloat until someone is ready to dump a third baseman (maybe a new signee... those guys will be available once the summer hits and a guy like Tony Batista might be a possibility in addition to the names mentioned by Andy).

If Henson just can't handle the position defensively, there's Miguel Cairo in camp, but Cairo has shown in the past he can't handle third; I'd rather stick Henson there and hope rather than stick Cairo there knowing there's no hope.

I don't think Almonte is ready at all, or an obvious possibility would be to have him take over, or take over at short and asking Jeter to try third.

Finally, there's the desperation idea. Push Cairo, or maybe Homer Bush, to second base, and let Soriano try his hand at third. I'm not sure that the longer throw is what Soriano needs to keep his errors down, but he's got an arm that could probably handle the long throw.

Boone's loss hurts the Yankees in other ways: he was one of the top defensive third basemen in the league last year, according to Range Factor and Zone Rating. With him at third, Derek Jeter's immobility didn't hurt quite so bad. Without him, the left side of the Yankee infield could be a disaster area.

The possible replacements mentioned above did not have good glove seasons in 2003: Troy Glaus was near the bottom of the RF and ZR ratings, and Edgardo Alonzo wasn't much better in the NL. Kevin Brown, for one, must not be a happy man today....

Craig, I believe someone in another thread had noted Henson was attempting to work a buyout option on his contract with the Yankees.

Mike: you're right, I shouldn't have used Boone's craptacular season in pinstripes (.254/.302/.418) as the sole gauge of his season overall...still, the Yanks shouldn't have a prob finding someone to meet (or beat) that statline.

Henson denies this categorically.

From a story at mlb.com...

Henson, a former quarterback at the University of Michigan, has dealt with rumors for the past couple of years that he was planning to give up baseball in favor of the NFL, where the Houston Texans own his rights.

"I don't know where it comes from," Henson said of the football rumors last September. "I'm under contract, I have three years left, and this is what I chose to do. It's a long process, and hopefully I'll end up where I want to be."

All the rumours are just that.

http://economics.about.com
I think the Yankees might actually be willing to get creative this time, and put together a platoon or something. We've seen in the past that Cashman has been more than willing to manufacture a leftfielder, rather than buy one. It just may be that the Yankees are going to try to live like the other 29 teams for a while, and respond creatively to an injury.

They could, but I don't see that happening. I can't imagine Steinbrenner would be too happy, plus the Yankees don't have to pay a cent of Boone's contract now, so that frees up money to get his replacement.

Alfonzo is probably the best bet at this point. Nevin is a possibility, and so is Beltre. I still think picking up Helms and picking up Counsell's paycheck is the Yanks best bet. Helms is a decent enough replacement, Counsell would improve their bench, and apparently the Brewers need the money. Seems win-win to me.

Cheers,

Mike

The Angels wont move Glaus yet because they have no replacement for him. Casey Kotchman is a firstbasemen and Dallas McPherson is at least a year away. Plus the Angels should contend with their current lineup so I cant see them moving Glaus unless they fall out of the race. Henson is supposedly working out for Football right now. Nevin might be an option but San Diego could be a contender in the West. The Yankees might have to rely on Cairo and Wilson until teams drop out or want to cut payroll. Koskie might be interesting as the Twins could try Cuddyer again at third.

I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in a medicore minor leaguer's word who has a chance to go play NFL football if he's able to wiggle out of his baseball contract. Plus, you've got to figure if he tells the world he wants out of the Yankee organization they'll just let him walk.

As per Steinbrenner accepting a 'creative' solution...Yeah right! Once you put $180M into a team, you're not going to just accept a hole on the left side. You're gonna fill it the best way you know -- lots and lots of cash.

Plus, you've got to figure if he tells the world he wants out of the Yankee organization they'll just let him walk.

Should read: Plus, you've got to figure if he tells the world he wants out of the Yankee organization they're not just going to let him walk.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=klapisch_bob&id=1720059
Apparently the Yanks actually do owe Boone some money, even if the contract is voided. I would have agreed with Mike thinking if a contract is void, it's exactly that and he isn't owed a cent, but the Yanks will owe Boone almost $1 mil for "30 days termination fee." COMN for the ESPN story. Not a bad deal for Boone-he still gets paid more than most of us do in 10 years for violating his contract and busting his ACL.

RIght now the yankees left side is licking balls. If they dont get the bling in there to fix it they are going to have a fucked up season. There are some good trades though because Boone aint exactly the greatest 3rd basemen alive.

DJD

I don't care what anyone says I feel Counsell was traded too soon. He didn't have a chance, when he came back from his injuries. Counsell's also been known to, after recovering from serious injuries, to come back healthier and stronger. Craig Counsell also, when he was named MVP of the Diamondbacks should of gone to the All Stars, instead of Jr. Spivey, who came just a short time later.But again that my comments, and I'm sticking to them.

I don't care what anyone says I feel Counsell was traded too soon. He didn't have a chance, when he came back from his injuries. Counsell's also been known to, after recovering from serious injuries, to come back healthier and stronger. Craig Counsell also, when he was named MVP of the Diamondbacks should of gone to the All Stars, instead of Jr. Spivey, who came just a short time later.But again that my comments, and I'm sticking to them.

Craig Counsell's thoughts on playing the game is "If everyone does their part as a team it adds to a win'. Counsell does not need to prove to anyone that he's good he knows it within himself, reason why he doesn't wear his World Series Rings. I am glad to discover that he's going to be Brewers starter SS. Counsell will give his all and will prayerfully stay Brewers SS this season.

Craig Counsell's thoughts on playing the game is "If everyone does their part as a team it adds to a win'. Counsell does not need to prove to anyone that he's good he knows it within himself, reason why he doesn't wear his World Series Rings. I am glad to discover that he's going to be Brewers starter SS. Counsell will give his all and will prayerfully stay Brewers SS this season.