WasWatching.com

Am I the only one that thinks Pena's being a tad overrated now? The Yanks and Red Sox let him "slip through their fingers" because he wasn't exactly tearing his was through AAA that season. Last year's stats seem like they're a little out-of-whack with what should be a more realistic expectation.

He had a great season last year and it's cool for him to now be getting some publicity. But he's still the 30-year old guy on his sixth franchise in eight years of pro ball.

~~~he wasn't exactly tearing his was through AAA that season~~~

MJ - IIRC, Pena was leading the Clippers in home runs and RBI and had an OBA around .370 when the Yankees let him walk.

MJ - IIRC, Pena was leading the Clippers in home runs and RBI and had an OBA around .370 when the Yankees let him walk.
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He hit 19 HR and 66 RBI with a line of .260/.370/.454 in 381 AB's at AAA-Columbus. He finished with 23 HR (he hit another four with Pawtucket), good for fifth overall in the International League.

I guess he did put up some good AAA numbers in 2006. I also agree that the Yanks have had nothing but dregs at the first base position and that Pena wouldn't be any worse than anyone else they've had. Even still, last year still looks pretty irregular based on his previous seasons in the bigs. The Yanks didn't exactly suffer for not having had Pena in 2006 and 2007. They did, after all, lead the majors in runs and make the playoffs both seasons.

I said it then, I said it last year, and I'll say it again: the Yankees were fools to let him walk away. Not because I expected him to have such a monster year (I didn't), and not because he was hitting all that well in AAA (the numbers cited are actually a little surprising; I didn't think, just from memory, that he even hit that well). Here's the thing: the Yankees ended up signing Doug Minky-wich after letting Pena walk the year before. One thing we knew about Pena was that he was a really good glove at first. One thing we knew about Minky-wich was that he was a good glove at first, but he was old, injury-prone and couldn't hit. So why drop 1.5 million on Minky when you just could have had Pena play, who's younger and a better hitter? If all they wanted was a vacuum at first, Pena was going to be it -- and he offered the possibility of a little offense. That he went A-Rod and had a career year was totally unexpected and you can't blame the Yanks for not seeing it. But with all the flotsam wandering around first base for them, and then picking up a dead old bat like Minky, not keeping Pena was dumb, dumb, dumb. (And we should also remember that Pena didn't even originally make the Rays; someone got hurt and he went north with the team -- his year was predicted by no one.)

Who's to say that Pena breaks out like that if was with the Yanks though? Playing for Tampa is a lot different than playing for the Yanks.

In hindsight it was dumb to let him go, but at the time he was just a career underachiever and hadn't done anything to suggest he was ready to take that next step.

Mistakes happen, every GM makes them, no point in dwelling on it.

~~~Mistakes happen, every GM makes them, no point in dwelling on it.~~~

It's logic like that which allowed Randy Smith to stay G.M. of the Tigers for so long. Should the Yankees make the same mistake?

It's logic like that which allowed Randy Smith to stay G.M. of the Tigers for so long. Should the Yankees make the same mistake?

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If you believe that other than Pena that Randy Smith and Cashman were equal in performance than he should be fired.

Do you believe that Pena is the tie-breaker?

Please don't have your "anti-Cashman blinders" on when answering.

There were reports on Pena when he was at AAA with the Yankees that his bat speed was down.

Basura - I'm not sure I understand your question. But, I'll offer this:

IMHO, for too many Yankees fans, when it comes to Cashman it's "heads he wins and tails, well, everybody makes mistakes." If you're going to give him gold stars for the good stuff, then it's not fair to just dismiss the bad stuff as "Eh, everybody makes mistakes."

You've compared Cashman to Randy Smith out of the blue. Do you think Smith's performance was on par with Cashman's?

Could it be the "many Yankees fans, when it comes to Cashman it's "heads he wins and tails, well, everybody makes mistakes." say so because people realize not everything goes well every time?

I don't think most people DON'T dismiss all of Cashman's mistakes as you think.

Do you expect Alberto Gonzalez to bat 1.000? What about Arod? Why not? You expect Cashman to do so.

Demanding excellent performance is one thing. Your demands are beyond that in my opinion.

I don't know if you did one already but how about a poll of your readers, asking if they feel Cashman should have been replaced during this past off season because of poor job performance? A simple Yes or No would suffice, don't clutter it up with extra choices or anything.

Ooops, I had too many "Don't"s above.

It should read:

I don't think most people dismiss all of Cashman's mistakes as you think.

Ahh, geeze. Saw the title and figured a little updating on Carlos Pena and his great year. But no, once again?

Steve's great white whale, chugging along on the horizon. Thar she blows!!

And trust me. It blows.

Harley - It can't be that bad. You keep coming back for more, right? [wink]

Basura - you asked "Do you expect Alberto Gonzalez to bat 1.000? What about Arod? Why not? You expect Cashman to do so" - - my answer:

No. I don't. But, if Alberto or A-Rod makes an error on a ball that should be fielded, with ease, I'm going to call them on it. Or, if they make a blunder on the bases, I'm going to call them on it. Or, if they swing at a ball in the dirt and whiff in a huge spot, I'm going to call them on it. So, why should I treat the GM any different?

It's logic like that which allowed Randy Smith to stay G.M. of the Tigers for so long. Should the Yankees make the same mistake?
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Who says the Yanks have made a mistake? Especially when you compare year to year records...