Last week, the Yankees inked Nick Johnson to a one-year deal. He’ll likely DH, fill in at first base, and hit second fairly often. At first glance, it seems like a great signing. However, the acquisition of Nick the Stick wasn’t universally praised. It’s ridiculous that we feel the need to defend Cashman’s moves — but so-called “fans” have forced the issue.
For some reason, Yankee “fans” love to live in the past. We here at BLS were huge fans of both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. But when Brian Cashman doesn’t re-up a player, there’s a reason. Last year, he was willing to make a splash by signing A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira. He also let Bobby Abreu walk and take a significantly discounted contract with the Angels. Yes, Cashman probably overpaid slightly for the Big Three and missed out on a good deal with Abreu. However, Cashman puts an emphasis on dictating terms of negotiation and rarely yields to the market due to desperation. This has become even more evident in the past few months as the Yankees have passed on big money pitchers and seemingly cut loose Matsui and Damon.
It’s an oversimplification to say the Yankees could have had Matsui instead of Johnson. Yes, their contracts will pay them similarly for 2010. Though locking up Johnson probably had more to do with Damon’s salary demands than Matsui’s. Johnson was signed to hit second at least half of the time. That’s because Cashman clearly already knew that Damon was never coming back.
It’s annoying that people are also locked into the 2009 “Bombs Away” mentality. This is a different year and a different team. Cashman lost very little pop in the outfield and upgraded it defensively. Adding Nick Johnson’s absurd OBP is also part of the transition. One has to wonder if the “fans” whining about Matsui and Damon remember the Yankees STILL have one of the all-time great infields. The Yankees may have less comeback wins and walkoff bombs, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be worse off in 2010.
In the big picture, the Yankees will pay the new acquisitions less than the (literally) old team members. Johnson and Granderson also have similar levels of production and are both younger than their counterparts. Here are some additional points to support our argument:
- Nick Johnson can hit #2 and usually has a great OBP. This lets Granderson hit 5th against righties and lower in the order when the Yankees face a lefty. Last year, Johnson had a .298 average and .433 OBP as a #2 hitter.
- While Nick Johnson has limited ability to play first base, he can still fill in for Teixeira when he’s not DHing. He started 124 games at first base last year between the Nationals and Marlins. The people complaining about Johnson’s less-than-stellar fielding and injury concerns must also forget that Hideki Matsui only had 456 ABs last year (437 coming as DH) and didn’t play a single game in the outfield. He also only started 116 games.
- Hideki Matsui will be 36 and Johnny Damon will also be 36 next season. Granderson will be 29 and Johnson will be 31. We should probably copy and paste this one more time at the end just in case it doesn’t sink in.
- In terms of hitting numbers, Johnson and Granderson are similar (slightly better even) to Matsui and Damon. Johnson and Granderson have a 3-year BA/OBP/SLG/OPS of 0.279, 0.379, 0.485, 0.864 while Matsui and Damon have 0.284, 0.365, 0.463, 0.828. The 5-year averages are slightly better for Matsui and Damon but batting average is still the only category where the older duo is better. You can visit It’s About The Money Stupid for more on this comparison.
- Joe Girardi can now hit either Nick Johnson or Nick Swisher in the #2 spot. The Yankees will be even more taxing on starters and relievers by seeing a ton of pitches. Yes, Johnny Damon had an excellent 4.06 pitches per at bat. However, Swisher had a massive 4.26 and Nick Johnson had a ridiculous 4.36 pitches per at bat.
To all of you Yankee fans out there: embrace the change. The Yankees aren’t re-building or quitting on 2010. Brian Cashman simply has a plan that you may not fully understand. It’s shocking how many people object to acquiring younger, cheaper players that put up comparable numbers. Please, just leave the general managing to The Cash Man.
Tags: 2010, acquisitions, baseball, curtis granderson, dh, first base, free agents, Hideki Matsui, johnny damon, MLB, new york yankees, nick johnson, outfield, trades
