Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Pull the Trigger: Brett Gardner for Justin Upton


First and foremost I want to start this post by explaining that this is pure speculation. I do not have any inside sources, I did not read anywhere that a deal is being discussed or even a possibility, etc. It's the offseason and it's the time to dream, live in a Playstation sort of world, and have fun. Let's do it.

Whether or not the Atlanta Braves are in full sell mode or not remains to be seen but the Tommy La Stella and Jason Heyward trades made you wonder what's going on in the ATL. I understand the team is "starved" for starting pitching but at what point does one begin to scratch their heads and wonder what John Hart's ultimate plan is. Does he know more then you or I, yes he does by the way, and will the Braves exceed expectations in 2015 or are these two deals simply a precursor to a bigger deal, a deal involving Justin Upton?

If the latter is true the New York Yankees need to pick up the phone right now and make this happen. One thing the Yankees have been lacking for over two seasons now is right handed power and Upton has that as evident by his 29 home runs in 2014. The problem is where do you play the aforementioned Upton brother? He plays left field in Turner Field, why not left field in Yankee Stadium?

Atlanta is looking towards the now and the future so while Upton has one year left on his deal Gardner still has four at a very team friendly price. Gardner makes the Braves lineup more dynamic while the Yankees offense gets better ten fold in my opinion. Add in a Bryan Mitchell (or Shane Greene although my preference is to hold on to Greene) and Austin Romine who is out of options and a viable backup for Christian Bethancourt and I think a deal gets done.

So what say you, do you pull the trigger? Let us know in the comments section.

34 comments:

  1. Two things to start with. First, I certainly would not mind Justin Upton playing left field for us. Second I would really hate to see Gardner traded. But as you said, this is dreamland. If Gardner were to be traded, I would like to see a Bret Gardner for Brandon Crawford trade. Crawford is World Series tested, great glove man, and controllable for the next 3 years. The Giants may be willing to make that move since they need a left fielder and Panik was a shortstop before they brought him up. Thoughts anyone?

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    1. I would hate to see Gardner go too but with Ellsbury we wouldn't see a huge loss. If Gardner was stealing 50 bases like he could then that's a different story. I think we saw the career year for Gardner this season and I merely though of selling high.

      Speaking of selling high Crawford would cost a ton I would think, no?

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    2. Yup, on all points Daniel! Always sell before the expiration date.
      I like Brett a lot, as I said below...but, business says...for the right player, Yes!

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    3. I think he could be had for Gardner and maybe a lesser prospect. I do know that San Francisco is looking for outfield help. I think Gardner and maybe somebody like Romine or Heathcott could get the trade done.

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  2. They can prolly just sign him next year and keep Gardner. Put him in right. Dh Beltran I think a rod will be gone by then

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  3. Good Dreamland points, Guys!
    For the record, I had been pushing for Brett from his 2nd year on the Farm.
    Point #1--If they will trade Justin for Brett, that means they are or would trade him to someone, anyone! Therefore, he would be on another team and signed to an extension (I should think)!
    Point #2--Justin 26...Brett 30 years old!
    Point #3--Justin is the better power guy!
    Point #4--Justin averages per year; 161 SO to 69 BB
    Point #5--Brett is at; 112 SO and 60 BB and only 1.2 errors per year in LF!
    Point #6--Justing has 7 errors per year in OF!

    If one wants to give up some runs for power, Justin is your man!
    If wants a player that saves runs, steals bases, gets timely hits and, other than the power numbers, is close to Justins numbers...go with Brett!
    For me, it is hard to choose, but we could use a good right handed power bat in the line-up!
    You are the GMs, what do you do?

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  4. UPTON vs GARDNER vs KEN REED :

    For the first time in a while, the Yankees have a nice trading piece..Bret Gardner.
    Other teams have a need for him, and can send back a player that can improve the Yankees.

    Will it be a short stop, or a player like Justin Upton ? Who knows. But now the Yankees
    have a seat at the trading table. Right up front.

    Kenneth, with Ellsbury, you already have a player like Gardner. You have to know this.
    I say with a player like Upton in the line-up, the Yankees are a better, stronger team.
    I don't know where the short stop road will take us, but if they have a shot at a Castro,
    the odds are better with Gardner's trading chip on the table.

    Changes must be made. It is imperative as they move forward.
    Some changes hurt, but if the right move is made....we will all get over it.

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  5. Come on Patrick. Jump on my Gardner for Crawford band wagon. We need a shortstop more than we need a left fielder.

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    1. The problem is we don't have an abundance of outfielders on the roster so sure we have a shortstop but now our starting left fielder is Chris Young.

      Plugging a hole by creating a hole.

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  6. DANIEL....was glad to hear you laughed out loud. Wrestlers have that power.

    One more for you...many years ago there was popular wrestler, Jake ' The Snake ' Roberts, who came into the ring with a python in a canvas sack. He would almost always knock out his opponent, and then open the sack, and let the snake scare the hell out of the other guy.
    Very funny stuff.

    Jake in real life had become an alcoholic, and all knew it. And, he was trying to give up drinking.
    So how did it end for Jake ?

    One night they blind sided Jake, and knocked him unconscious. ( Sound familiar ? )

    Then as one wrestler held him down, another poured Jack Daniels down his throat.
    The snake ? They all took turns jumping on the sack. Andre The Giant, then climbs into the
    ring, and puts all 600 lbs of his fat bottom on top of the sack.
    The snake is dead, and is thrown from the ring. The wrestlers can not stop laughing.

    Jake ' The Snake ' never appears again.
    I laughed so hard I cried.



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    1. Wanna hear something funny?

      I dropped my kids off and I am heading to work this morning when I see a deer about 500 feet ahead. I come to a complete stop and watch as the deer runs across the road and about 5-10 seconds later I hear a huge thump in my beloved Volvo.

      A deer literally ran into my car this morning. I was at a complete stop for a good 10 seconds and had all my lights on and a deer hit me in the drivers side fender. When I tried to get out of the car the door did not want to open because of the damage. I was angry, especially when the deer got up and ran off to hit another car another day.

      I was even more angry when I searched for a replacement online and noticed reasonable prices with shipping costs starting at $65 and topping out at over $100 just for shipping. I'm still angry. Effing deer (plural or singular, I hate them all now).

      Funny huh?

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    2. And that was on top of a brake vacuum pump that started running all the time in the car. I replaced the switch and the pump (big money) only to start the car and the pump run 24/7. They won't take back an electrical item after it has been installed.

      I have no luck, I take that back I have bad luck. Funny, huh? Welcome to my life the past week. lol lol lol.

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  7. Nope. I say give the starting left field to Austin. Sink or swim baby! If we don't bring our prospects up at a young age and give them a "Baptism by Fire", then we will NEVER again have a DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Berra, Rivera, or Jeter type player again. Enough of this waiting until our guys are 26 before we give them a legit shot. (Betances, Gardner, etc., etc.) Austin may fail miserably. But we need to find out. I sit here and read every article, and every comment. Daniel, Ken, Bryan, Jack, Patrick, you all have my respect as being true baseball fans with superior baseball intellects. Am I the only one hear that's seeing the Yankees spend "stupid" money on free agents? (Ellsbury) Or picking up "stupid" depth options? (Johnson, Roberts) WE NEED A NEW IDENTITY TO COMPETE!!! We cannot keep signing and acquiring people that are going to block our prospects. Anybody they sign or acquire should not be for more than two years. Our prospects are close! Patience.

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    1. Jeff you know me, I am all for a prospect coming up and taking over a position. I am in total agreement that you don't know what you have until it's playing for someone else and I don't agree with it. I am also a strong believer in winning. The only trams that do the baptism of fire are teams that don't expect to win that season, not us, or teams that are loaded elsewhere and can survive a potential black hole in the lineup, again not us.

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    2. Daniel- I hate to point out the obvious, but our model for winning hasn't been working. We need to try something different. We were all excited about what the Yankees did last offseason. We paid $22 million a year for the same production that we get from Gardner for $12 million. (Ellsbury) We paid $15 million for a 37 year old outfielder that provided replacement level production. (Beltran) And we spent $155 million on a Japanese pitcher that everybody said had thrown to many innings in his early career. Don't get me wrong, I liked the Tanaka signing and the McCann signing. The win now at all costs is not doing us any good. 1 title in the last 12 or 13 years isn't cutting it. The Giants had 6 out of 8 starting positional players this year. They've won 3 out of 5 World Series. It's time for change gentlemen.

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  8. JEFF...I did my home work on Brandon Crawford. Help me, does he fall into the Elvis Andrus,
    Castro type, range of players ? You have the advantage here.

    But !...I did bring up images of Crawford's wife, before he started impregnating her.
    She is still looks terrific, an ex gymnast. Include her, and I'm on your band wagon.
    Take care.

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  9. Crawford is an excellent defender that hits good enough for a shortstop. He hits 7-10 homeruns a year in a home ballpark that is unkind to left handed hitters not named Barry Bonds. His swing in Yankee Stadium might make him a 10-15 guy. The point is, he won't cost us 4 of our top 5 prospects like Tulo, and he won't cost us $120 million over 8 years like Andrus. He is entering his first year of arbitration. That gives us 3 years of control. That should buy enough time to let Yoan Moncado develop after we sign him.

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    1. If the cost, player wise, makes sense than I am for the deal. I don't necessarily need a Hanley Ramirez type offense at shortstop as long as the player is solid. 10-15 home runs out of your shortstop along with a .280-ish average and good defense is ideal here. We keep our top prospects and we improve.

      If that's Crawford, sign me up.

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  10. JEFF....love your spirit. If Brandon is that good, he belongs in the mix.
    As for Austin, and you make wonderful / valid points.....but he will never be a Upton.
    Do you want to contend, or mirror the Mets ? Everyone plays there.

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  11. Jeff, I must say I like your thinking. One thing you may wish to know, I have been saying bring up the kids and let then make it or not for over 25 years. Daniel and I think that way ...to a point. I believe in winning for the long haul, not to day.
    Guys like Lindgren, Severino, Pirela, Refsnyder, Webb, Banuelos, Slade Heathcott, Montgomery...all of them are ready or could be without all the older guys taking playing time away from them. Would we win the first year they came up, why not, history does repeat itself!
    Right now, we have a hole at 2nd and SS even 3rd base and right field. We have 3 young SS coming along, and if things go well for them one will be ready by the year 2016 maybe 2017. So, find someone for 2 or 3 years for the SS spot. We are very rich in the pitching department, so why go out after another starter or BP pitcher.
    My opinion as an old guy that wants another Yankee dynasty not one WS every now and then..even if I am not around to see them.

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  12. Fans say, "Well, the player hasn't played above AA yet how can he be ready?" I say to them, they know not what they speak of. One should take a look at the players on those AA and AAA teams. The older players got to AAA first and stay there unless they stink up the place. making a younger (maybe better) player stay in AA. The jump from AA to the bigs is a big one but, so is AAA to the bigs. Mickey came up and was sent back down, worked hard and came back to be a very good player. Sometimes that happens to the best players, after all, it is overwhelming to some young kids.

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    1. Right you are Ken. Let's not forget that Cano was never considered a top prospect. In fact, he was offered in the ARod trade with Texas, but was turned down in favor of Jauquin Arias. Austin was very close to the Majors two years ago before a wrist injury slowed him down for a year and a half. If you take what Austin did in the second half of AA, and combine it with the AFL, it's pretty good.

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  13. Ken,

    Slade Heathcott hasn't been on the field long enough to be anywhere close to ready. He makes Tulo look like Cal Ripken Jr. Severino is barely in Double-A and Mark Montgomery couldn't hit Kim Kardashian's ass with a pitch right now.

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    1. The system hates me. I had answers for you but they were eaten. Anyhow, my list was of players ready now or on the edge (one more year).
      Slade plays CF not SS. Look-up Severino, 20 years old and went 113+ innings with great numbers (one year away). The rest of the guys, we all know about.
      Oh, bye the way, check out this guy I like, 24 year old CF Taylor Dugas, 162 BB to only 133 SO in his career, not much power but the rest of his numbers show very well.

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  14. It's a conspiracy Reed. I have to confirm every post and I simply delete the ones that don't agree with my ideas and stances. On a serious note though Google needs to seriously get their crap together. It's gotten to the point where I copy my posts so I can paste them if they fail.

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    1. You have a smooth temperament, as I have gotten older, mine has started to revert to my very, very younger years.
      When things go bad (all the time nowadays) I pop in here and have you guys rip me for something I commented about, or ignore me. But, it always seems to make me feel better, because I know, "I am always right"! Dat dar were a good'un, hay what? LOL
      Now, I am going to the basement and climb up on my; three legged chair on top of a broken box all setting on my table, which has seen much better days...and dair the world to interrupt me! To do so while I listen to Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and the sounds from heaven...Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, and Brubeck...dat dar, it be a bad move, I would fall down and wake-up!
      Just kidding people, don't get uptight...I am bored and that's what you get when that happens.!

      Sorry 'bout this, just too damn cold outside, although I am going back out after I have finished insulting all of you guys. Have fun at work guys, and think positive!

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  15. Reed,

    Here's to warmer days and posts that make more sense, lol. Stay warm my friend.

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    1. I'll try on both accounts, but I just couldn't resist the temptation.
      I like to wake everyone up a little bit.

      Sports related; Brandon Crawford, from what I can read of him he is good, Not a young A-Rod but, good! Get him Cashman, if it takes Brett, so be it, we can find an Outfielder , not so much for SS's!

      Have you guys ever been to a real...what we called, "A Coffee Club"? Back in the day, the greats of Jazz would show-up at one, of many, Clubs around LA. and have a Jam Session. One guy that can never be replaced is Oscar Peterson on the Piano, his hands were very large, which let him play the same tune as others and with your eyes closed one could tell it was Oscar. He could hit cords others couldn't because of his hands.
      In those days, it was them making the sounds and it was the singers, singing the songs, not a music whatjacallit.
      Sinatra, Clooney (yes, the actors mom), Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr, and music by Brubeck, Davis, Coltrane, Oscar, Basie etc.
      Back then, the bars didn't open until 1600 hrs (I think it was), on sunday. So, they came in for coffee, real strong coffee it was too. LOL

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    2. Stronger than Starbucks coffee?

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    3. I'll pass then, lol. I don't like tar.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)