Larry Mahnken and SG's

 Replacement Level Yankees Weblog

"Hey, it's free!"


The Replacement Level Yankees Weblog has moved!  Our new home is:
http://www.replacementlevel.com
Featuring:
 Larry Mahnken
SG
sjohnny
TVerik
Sean McNally
Fabian McNally
John Brattain
This is an awesome FREE site, where you can win money and gift certificates with no skill involved! If you're bored, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out!


Web
yankeefan.blogspot.com
Donations are gratefully accepted!
Read Larry Mahnken at The Hardball Times!

The New York Yankees Vintage World Series Films DVD Set, available from A&E.
2006 Lineup Toy
BuySellTix.com buys and sells:
Yankees Tickets
World Series Tickets
MLB All Star Tickets
NFL Tickets

Purchase your
New York Yankees tix
as they go for another
AL East
crown in 2006

Onlineseats.com
is your #1 source for MLB tickets,
NY Mets Tickets,
Cubs Tickets,
Yankees Tickets,
Red Sox Tickets,
Giants Tickets,
Astros Tickets,
Angels Tickets,
Phillies Tickets.

Buy all your MLB Tickets,
Mets Tickets,
Orioles Tickets,
Yankees Tickets,
Cardinals Tickets,
Phillies Tickets,
Cubs Tickets,
Red Sox Tickets,
Dodgers Tickets,
from The Ticket Specialists.

Engagement Rings
Laser Keyboard
Brazil Flowers
TickCo.com for premium
New York Yankees Tickets
Boston Red Sox Tickets
Chicago white Sox Tickets
A's Tickets
Angels Tickets
New York Mets Tickets
St Louis Cardinals Tickets
Cubs Tickets
Dodgers Tickets

Atom Feed

RSS Feed

Add the RLYW to My Yahoo!

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm an optimist. Things are really worse than I say they are."
- Steve South
A-Rod Cover Counter

Appearances
5


Magic Numbers
Playoffs --
Division --
Home Field --



DIPS Worksheets!

The Curse Of... Oh, Let's Say, Clay Bellinger:
January 2001 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007
LINKS
Yankees Sites and Columnists
Nomaas.org
General Baseball Sites & Columnists
At Home Plate
Rotoauthority.com
The Book Blog - Playing the Percentages in Baseball(Tango, MGL, Dolphin)
Yankees Blogs
Almost Perfect
Baby Bombers
Baseball Mania
Bronx Banter
Bugs and Cranks
Canyon of Heroes
Dugout News
Eephus Pitch
Here Comes Number 27
High and Tight
Lohud Yankees Blog
No Sense Worrying
Pinstripe Potentials
River Ave. Blues
Soft Hands
The Stat Boy of the Empire
Was Watching
Yankees Chick
Yankees Fans in Foreign Lands
Yanks Blog
Other Team Blogs
Anaheim Angels All the Way
Bucco Blog
San Francisco Giants Blog
Viva El Birdos

Look what people have to say about Larry Mahnken's commentary!

"Larry, can you be any more of a Yankee apologist?.... Just look past your Yankee myopia and try some objectivity."
- Bernal Diaz

"Mr. Mahnken is enlightened."
- cordially, as always,
  rm

"Wow, Larry. You've produced 25% of the comments on this thread and said nothing meaningful. That's impressive, even for you."
- Anonymous

"After reading all your postings and daily weblog...I believe you have truly become the Phil Pepe of this generation. Now this is not necessarily a good thing."
- Repoz

"you blog sucks, it reeds as it was written by the queer son of mike lupica and roids clemens. i could write a better column by letting a monkey fuk a typewriter. i dont need no 181 million dollar team to write a blog fukkk the spankeees"
- yan

"i think his followers have a different sexual preference than most men"
- bob

"Boring and predictable."
- No Guru No Method

"Are you the biggest idiot ever?"
- Randal

"I'm not qualified to write for online media, let alone mainstream media."
- Larry Mahnken 

[Powered by Blogger]
Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com

This site is best viewed with a monitor.

Disclaimer: If you think this is the official website of the New York Yankees, you're an idiot. Go away.


December 9, 2005


Don't Forget A Courtesy Flush
by Larry Mahnken

And, thank God, the Tony Womack era is over.

It's been a terribly disappointing offseason. The Yankees need a centefielder, DH and relief pitching. Well, the acceptable centerfielders are too expensive and not really that great, they haven't really looked at any DHs, and the best relievers all want to be closers. So the dream of having BJ Ryan setting up Rivera was stillborn, Tom Gordon is a Phillie, and who have they gotten? Kyle Farnsworth. Color me unimpressed.

But Tony Womack is gone, and that's a plus no matter what else happens. Signed a year ago to give the team the "Dave Roberts-type" player who was overcredited with Boston's ALCS win, he did almost nothing to help them win games, save for a couple of hits in crucial spots (and I mean COUPLE). His overall offense was putrid, costing far more than those clutch hits gained. The best thing he did for the team was get Bernie out of center for a while and get Robinson Cano into the majors.

The bizzare thing about the initial acquisiton of Womack was the reaction of the media -- there were actually people complaining about the Yankees getting Womack from the perspective of other teams! They complained how unfair it was that the Yankees could just snag a player like him, as though they'd gotten someone who was actually, you know, good.

Part of it was that he batted .300, which people overrate. Another is that he stole a lot of bases, which is also overrated. That he didn't get on base or hit for power was generally ignored.

Well, in 2005, he didn't get on base, he didn't get for power, he didn't hit .300, and he didn't steal bases. The reaction to that was even more surprising.

The Yankees have brought in many overrated players in the past - Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, to name two recent ones. When they flopped, the media reaction wasn't, "Oh, I guess he wasn't that good after all," but rather a critque of their ability to play in New York, in the pressure cooker. With Womack, the reaction, stunningly, was "Oh, I guess he sucks." His suckiness actually trancended cliches.

The deportation of Tony Womack is an absolute positive. No hole is needed to be filled by his departure, money is freed up for useful players, and they actually got players who could some day make it to the majors. But the latter two reasons are irrelevant -- even had the Yankees dumped him and eaten his entire salary, they'd be better off. He's just that bad.

Now the focus is on filling the holes left. It won't be easy, there's not much out there. If Johnny Damon comes for 3 or 4 years, it's acceptable. He will make the team better next year and they won't be stuck with him for too much of his decline.

Despite all the rumblings and signings, the Blue Jays aren't contenders for the AL East title, or even the Wild Card, unless a lot of things go exactly right. They've got a great 1-2 pitching punch and a solid closer, but not a lot else. They'll be better, but if the Yankees finish behind them and miss the playoffs, it'll be because of themselves, not Toronto.

Anyway, I'm back, for today at least. Hopefully tomorrow and the next day, too. It's been a horrid year. Time to try and restore some normalcy.

--posted at 1:07 PM by Larry Mahnken / |