Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian.
You’ve treated us Yankee fans oh so well during these last two offseasons. You purchased CC Sabathia and overpaid for A.J. Burnett, both of whom played critical roles in winning the 2009 World Series. You gave us the greatest Christmas present of all in landing Big Tex seemingly out of nowhere. This offseason, you reacquired two talented players both of whom you previously traded away–including in a deal for each other–in Nick the Stick and Home Run Javy.
Simply put, you’ve been on a roll, and though you kept telling us you only had $2 million to spend on left field, I don’t think any of us actually believed that. Nor did we think you’d go and take that $2 million and spend it on Randy Winn. Words cannot describe how much I hate this move, so I will show you in numbers:
For kicks, here are the last four years of Tony Womack’s career:
And here are Winn’s 2010 projections:
Randy Winn sucks. He may have at one time been a reasonable ballplayer, but that was back when Honus Wagner was suiting up for the Buccos. I know he’s coming aboard as the fourth outfielder/platoonmate, but sweet Jesus we’d have been better off flushing the money directly down the toilet. It would’ve taken what–an extra $3-$4 million to get Damon back into the fold? We couldn’t do that, but we could spend a third of the presumed cost of Damon on an absolute and utter complete waste of space like Winn? Better to have let Gardner at least try to hold the position down–I’m not even much of a Gardner fan but I’d still rather Grit in there every day than waste any at-bats on the second coming of Wilson Betemit.
Honestly, Brian Cashman knows better than this. Signing Randy Winn and his sub-.700 OPS in 2009 for any amount is craziness. It doesn’t make any sense nor fit with the Yankees’ work-the-pitcher, high-OBP MO.
In the grand scheme of things I can’t imagine Winn playing a particularly large role on the 2010 Yankees, but the mere fact that he’s even a possibility to steal at-bats at all either underscores just how putridly depressed the market for outfielders is; shows that the Steinbrenners weren’t actually kidding about a budget; that Cashman went out on a raging bender last night and offered Winn a contract in the midst of a severe alcohol-induced stroke; or all of the above.
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3 Responses to Tony Womack 2: Electric Boogaloo
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TIQ IQ
If it means we can get rid of him for Swisher #2 mid-season, I'm all for it. Though who would want Randy Winn!??!?!? Really… The occasional pop is definitely not worth $2 mill.
Ha, not like this deal much, Larry? Can't tell… Maybe Winn is going to play some outfield after Girardi pitch hits for Gardner late in games? Although I'm not sure who'll be doing that pitch hitting… presumably Winn? Roughage. Doubt Winn will be on the team the entire season
If you think of Randy Winn as Hairston Jr's replacement, it is actually an improvement. With Winn for the OF and Pena for the IF, we have a solid defensive replacement for every position that could need it (RF, 3B, SS, C, maybe LF.) And Winn is certainly a better offensive player than Hairston, even when you count last year.