[新聞] Picking Up the Phone, Torre Goes Headhunting

[steo (phen)]

Picking Up the Phone, Torre Goes Headhunting
By TYLER KEPNER
Published: November 17, 2005



If a free agent gets a phone call from Joe Torre, he knows the Yankees are
serious. Torre, the Yankees' manager, has made successful recruiting pitches
to Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano in recent years, and now he is
calling Brian Giles.

Giles, most recently of the San Diego Padres, has played only 36 games in
center field over the last four years. But the Yankees seem to have decided
that Giles can handle the position, and they have made him a priority.

Giles's agent, Joe Bick, confirmed in an e-mail message yesterday that Torre
has tried to contact Giles, and that Giles planned to call him back yesterday.

Without naming the players, Torre said he had been asked to contact two free
agents so far. The other could be B. J. Ryan, a left-handed closer for the
Baltimore Orioles who greatly interests the Yankees as a setup man for
Mariano Rivera.

Torre clearly endorsed the signing of Giles, a player he remembered for his
speed and versatility from Giles's time with the Cleveland Indians in the
late 1990's.

"We're certainly interested, we know that," Torre said. "He could be someone
that could fit in."

Torre was at Yankee Stadium yesterday for a news conference to announce the
signing of Hideki Matsui, who agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract
extension, with a full no-trade clause, late Tuesday night.

Matsui has seemed comfortable in New York since his first game at Yankee
Stadium, when he hit a grand slam, and the Yankees put a premium on that.

"Finding players that can perform on the big stage in New York makes it that
much more important to retain those players," General Manager Brian Cashman
said.

"Replacing them over time, we've learned in many cases, is not as easy as
just swapping out comparable players, because the environment here can have a
unique impact on somebody."

Giles, who turns 35 in January, has never played in New York. But he has 10
years' experience in the majors and has an on-base percentage of better than
.400 in six of the last seven years. He batted .301 with 15 homers and 83
runs batted in last season.

The Padres essentially made up for Giles's pending departure yesterday by
nearing agreement with the Mets on a trade for center fielder Mike Cameron,
pending Cameron's passing an eye test. Cameron had interested the Yankees,
but the Padres intend to keep him.

The Yankees could always sign Giles, who played mostly in right field last
season, and decide in spring training whether he or Matsui will be the
regular center fielder. Giles was a left fielder as recently as 2003, and he
could play that position for the Yankees if Matsui moves to center.

That was a popular question yesterday for Matsui, whose primary position in
Japan was center field.

"For me, it doesn't matter," he said through his interpreter, Roger Kahlon.
"I'm prepared to do both."

Cashman said he would prefer that Matsui stayed in left field, but he added
that the final decision would be Torre's. Asked if he would be comfortable
with Matsui in center, Torre said: "I would be. I know he's comfortable
there."

The Yankees' best defensive center fielder is Bubba Crosby, who started three
games in their division series loss to the Angels.

While the Yankees have said that Crosby is an option as the everyday center
fielder, Torre also said: "We certainly intend to add someone in our
outfield. We're not sure who that person is yet."

There seem to be few options that interest the Yankees besides signing Giles
or, to a lesser degree, trading for Milton Bradley of the Dodgers.

Last winter, when the Yankees decided to pass on the free agent Carlos
Beltran, they had a fallback in Bernie Williams. Now, Williams is a free
agent, and Cashman said he had not yet begun negotiations with Williams's
agent, Scott Boras.

Asked last night if Williams could have a chance to play regularly with other
teams, Boras said: "Yes, he will. It's something we're going to talk to the
Yankees about and see where we go. I think Bernie feels that he can
contribute and participate with the Yankees at a very high level."

If Williams returns for a 16th season with the Yankees, Cashman said, it
would be in a secondary role. Torre said he had spoken with Williams since
the season ended, but he offered Williams no assurances about playing time.

"I told him, 'Yeah, sure, I love having you around, but it has to be what
fits,' " Torre said. "He knows it's not going to be in the same role he had
in the past. I think he's come to terms with that. Now it's just a matter of
seeing if that's going to happen, and we probably won't know it for a while."

出處:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/sports/baseball/17yanks.html

大意:
這篇報導在好幾家報紙都有,
大意就是Torre打電話給Giles,也就是Yankees應該是玩真的
(不過不知道在簽下Matsui後意願會不會改變)
另外Torre也有接觸B.J.Ryan
然後Matsui說他兩個位置都可以守
Cashman則說Crosby也是明年人選之一

差不多的新聞:

http://www.nj.com/yankees/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/113220817188570.xml&c
oll=1

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/366419p-311943c.html


http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks174516357nov17,0,48026
82.story?coll=ny-yankees-print

這篇還有提到Yankees也有向Damon詢問價碼
結果得到7年84M的回應(按:............)
他的經紀人Boras說:
I believe the Yankees would dominate with Johnny Damon on their team,"
Damon's agent, Scott Boras, said. "The key component is, how do you maximize
A-Rod and Jeter? [Damon] makes A-Rod, Jeter and Matsui better."

http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/57630.htm

還提到對一些救援投手有興趣
Farnsworth,Eyre,B.J.Ryan等等
還有一段報導
The Post has learned that at the GM meetings, the Yankees asked about young
Kansas City relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Mike MacDougal. But the Yankees
haven't contacted the Royals since.

看看就好

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◆ From: 59.115.234.217
※ 編輯: steo            來自: 59.115.234.217       (11/17 20:47)
推 crazyman7011:7年84M..那個臂力.......Orz...
推 summoon:大門去NY要刮鬍子吧,鬍子大概就值20M了XD
推 bestard:7年84M?? 我寧願讓CF空著也不要買彈弓回來擺
推 mgr:果然是拔辣司
推 FATDUDU:請問經紀人那段話的意思是?
推 jcchan:大門的經濟人認為洋基會簽大門..因為大門會使jeter,a-rod
→ jcchan:松井表現的更好
推 aking1226:別開玩笑了...兩三年還差不多...七年..想被套牢嗎..
推 Baudelaire:把Damon放七年？Damon-inside-the-park-homerun...
→ keppel:紅襪開出3年約近30M...看洋基是凱子才這樣出吧