E-FO, Yankees’ brass messes up on this one
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 3:36 pm by Vizzini
Both Randy Winn and Reed Johnson project as slightly below average hitters. And, looking at their UZRs, both would do fine work with the glove as LF replacements. But, the skill most needed in a Yankees fourth outfielder is the ability to hit left handed pitchers. Two of the Yankees three OFs have had serious issues hitting lefties. Leveraging a LOOGY against Granderson or Gardner in a late game situation is such an obvious strategy, even Mike Scioscia will be able to figure it out. This is why we at NoMaas advocated for Reed Johnson and his career .841 OPS vs LHPs.
Now comes word that the Dodgers have signed RJ on a one year deal worth a measly $800k, yet Brian Cashman spent 250% more than that on a signing that does not address the Yankees' most glaring bench need. It's been a great offseason overall for Ca$hMoney... but he botched this one.
Tags: offseason, reed johnson
Agreed.
And this is why NOMAAS kicks ass. No ball washing.
IM MAKING MORE THAN THAT!!! (NO IM NOT) *SMASH*
Perfect, perfect analysis.
RW is less injury prone than RJ
Ur a fucking loser. That joke never was funny. Why do you insist on doing it every single post?
winn stinks
To Tom Zig: It’s for a bench position. Who cares if RW gets hurt less?
summed it up perfectly
All the 2010 Yankees need is me. I will hit 52 HRs w/ 137 RBIs this season, guaranteed plus the AL MVP award.
I can make the Dodgers a winner.
johnny damon would have resigned for winns money, watch!!!!
cashman you have hurt me twice !!
first you traded david wells for steroid king clemmens
now you dont bring back johnny and yet you bring in some douche called winn
i hope you run out of toilet paper
Which got me thinking: a)How did the actors in Avatar grow tails? b)Will they be removed before the Oscars?
If this is our biggest concern going into 2010, methinks we will be just fine, thank you. I can’t imagine the difference between Reed Johnson and Randy Winn as fourth outfielder is even half a win.
Assuming RJ’s agent asked $850k from the Yankees. Pretty sure this wasn’t the case. And this # comes up AFTER one less position available in the market.
Eff you all. I know what I’m doing.
If Cashman wanted RJ, he would have signed him. Trust in Cashman. RW is better defensively and can still hit lefites and can be a full time player if necessary
No need to push me. Seriously.
RJ is injury prone. He had 4 trips to the DL in the last 3 years. Asides from last year, Winn didnt fair all that bad against lefties. Hes also a lot better defensibly, has never been to the DL, and can hit righties too(unlike RJ). Fangraphs also has Winn with a higher WAR than RJ.
Cashman isnt always right
going into 08 with no backup plan if kennedy and hughes didnt hold up
going into 09 with cody ransom as your utility player when cheap guys like hairston were available
signing randy winn for almost 2 million
im on to you cashman
Signing Winn should tell us they plan on him talking the LF job outright either in the spring or by May. Well no melky or Shelly so I’m prepared to start my love affair with an best mediocre talent that I really think can become really good for no rational reason, Come On Down Jamie Hoffman.
The Yankees already had a “Johnson” and they thought “Winn” was a really cool name. That’s why they signed him.
The WAR argument does not apply because it factors in playing time. Projections have Winn with more PAs than Johnson…thus the higher WAR.
Who would you rather have as an everyday player? That’s the question you should be asking yourselves. Let’s face it, Brett Gardner is more likely than not to absolutely suck. The most important job of a fourth outfielder is to provide insurance against injury, so you don’t have to send Colin Curtis out on the field every day.
Reed Johnson is a terrible player except on the off chance a lefty is on the mound. Winn is at least decent against the more important split: right-handed pitching, and before last year he was decent against LHP as well. The more I look at Reed Johnson the more I realize how awful it would be to have to watch him play every day. In an every day role, Winn is a much, much better option than Johnson. In a bench role, they’re really not all that dissimilar. That’s what the Yankees saw, and they’re absolutely correct.
And you Andrew are absolutely wrong. Yankee fans are starting to become Red Sox fans in that they always spin every move to be a correct one.
Please tell me how I’m absolutely wrong. Reed Johnson is a shitty, shitty player. Randy Winn is one year removed from being an incredibly valuable player. Seeing as how the Yankees were looking to resign Damon, and seeing as how they signed Winn, both of whom are LF’ers, it shows that they don’t feel at all comfortable with Gardner in LF, which is something I certainly agree with. Gardner has a very high probability of absolutely sucking. If he doesn’t work out, who would you rather have roaming LF? Reed Johnson was never the answer. A RHH bench option is the least valuable member of the team, other than perhaps the last arm in the bullpen. I’d much rather have a potential everyday player on the bench than a shitty, one-skill player like Reed Johnson.
STOP THIS ARGUING! STOP IT NOW FOR GODSSAKE!
If Winn stinks, Reed Johnson is a pile of crap.
It’s ok Kids just stay in your room, Mommy just burned the roast and your father has had a rough day at the office just stay in your room and lock the door and every thing will be o……
Hey guys rumor has it I want to play for you guys or the mets…yuck! I can hit lefties still I PROMISE. I’m fine being the new Cody Ransom call me!
If the Yankees fail to advance to the post-season (or win the World Series) because they signed Randy Winn over Reed Johnson, then they have much larger problems than Randy Winn.
Randy Winn should get the spot just because he was involved in a trade for Pinella.
How ’bout them Jets?
Why is there a high probability of Brett Gardner sucking? He has a history of being excellent defensively, awesome on the basepaths and getting on base at a decent clip, thanks to a strong walk rate. Whether or not that last attribute manifests itself will determine the difference between Gardner being marginal and solid-average… neither of which is particularly problematic from a guy making $400k.
Gardner ain’t A-Rod and he’s not supposed to be. He’s a number 9 hitter. Are we that jaded to expect not only an All Star at every defensive position, but a lineup of .300 plus hitters? Seriously, folks, if either of these players ends up being a factor in ANYTHING, we’ve got much bigger problems. Give me a guy who can catch a damn fly ball. And, honestly, I’m no stat guy, so I’m sure someone will be happy to correct me, but our RIGHT fielder can’t catch OR throw, yet nobody seems to have noticed …
Although he makes it look goofy out there, he’s fairly decent at turning fly balls into outs. You’re absolutely right about his arm, though.
He’s also awesome at not inadvertently ruining a Perfect Week.
despite what might be the common opinion, Swisher is actually pretty good defensively. At least according to the advanced fielding stats
Yo Randy Winn, Im real happy for you and Im’a left you finish, but Reed Johnson is one of the best hitters against left handed pitching of all time.
Winn = Womack
Winn = Womack
not even close. pretty ignorant to even suggest it.
I’m no stat guy, so I’m sure someone will be happy to correct me, but our RIGHT fielder can’t catch OR throw, yet nobody seems to have noticed …
we’re happy to correct you b/c you’re wrong. more ignorance.
just insulted your butt buddy Womack, sorry
Well we could always give at bats to Juan Miranda in LF, I think he has started some games there in the minors and he hits pretty well, can’t find minor league splits though to see what he does vs lefties.
Swisher is decent in the field. It’s just that when he makes a bad play it’s a total debacle, but he’s not bad. His arm is so so.
Randy Winn is complete garbage. Shouldn’t be on this team.
I like Gardner over him…which is saying a lot…because Gardner is a bum in waiting.
just insulted your butt buddy Womack, sorry
Even your comeback is completely wrong. My (fairly obvious) point was that Winn is a MUCH better player than Tony Womack.
This should be obvious to just about everyone.
I’m not sure that I agree with this assessment. Winn is simply a better player that Johnson. He is better at every facet of the game other than hitting left-handed pitching.
I think Cash was looking more for a backup outfielder than for a platoon hitter.
I suggest this article: http://riveraveblues.com/2010/02/did-the-yanks-make-a-mistake-by-passing-on-reed-johnson-23307/
No, the choice of Randy Winn over Reed Johnson is a good move because Randy Winn is the better player if forced into regular playing time at some point.
Think about this: Randy Winn would be the player who will receive regular playing time if any of the 5 following players get hurt: Granderson, Swisher, Gardner, Teixeira, Johnson.
Do you think it is likely that all 5 of these players will be healthy this year? I doubt it, and so the Yankees probablywon’t have the benefit of strictly using the 4th outfielder in a platoon role against LHP. As a result, it is probable that the 4th outfielder is going to get a good amount of playing time this year against LHP as well as RHP. Nick Johnson’s presence on the roster pretty much guarantees that, as he will be regularly benched like Matsui was in 2009, just for the sake of keeping him healthy. That amount of playing time is better off going to Winn than Reed Johnson, since Winn is the better overall player.
Obviously if you prefer the player that can hit LHP, then Reed is the choice. But it will probably be more important to have the player that will have more WAR in a larger amount of playing time against all types of pitchers. And that player is Randy Winn.
The Yankees main mistake so far has been not getting a good hitter for the bench. Randy Winn and Reed Johnson both suck at hitting compared to other previously available options. There will be times where Winn will take defensive playing time away from Nick Swisher (which isn’t a great benefit since Swisher is a fine defender), where ideally a better hitter off the bench could steal at bats away from Gardner (who isn’t a good hitter).
ill be booing winn opening day
That’s stupid.
What if….RJ wanted to go to the Dodgers? He is from Cali? Maybe Ca$h knew this???? What if????
im going to be booing randy winn and steve on opening day!