What the hell were the Diamondbacks thinking?!

[Bodhizefa]

Seriously? I know Scherzer's not as cheap as you would think for a guy who hasn't really been around for long (due to possible performance bonuses), but still. Who here would rather have Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy at a cost of millions more over the cheaper duo of Scherzer and Schlereth? And Scherzer and Schlereth are both under control for like a combined 11 more years. Kennedy's transition to the NL better be one helluva breakout for Josh Byrnes, lol.

[JP Kastner]

I'm certainly baffled by the trade from the Diamondback's perspective. Detroit looses their most popular player, but gets plenty in return. The Yankees get a special player to play centerfield everyday. While his numbers between 2008 and 2009 are down, it is easy to see what happened.

vs. RHP
2007 - .337 AVE, .393 OBP, .621 SLG
2008 - .288 AVE, .383 OBP, .517 SLG
2009 - .275 AVE, .358 OBP, .539 SLG

2007 was an outlier with those 23 triples. 2008 and 2009 are not all that different. A little less average, a little more power.

vs. LHP
2007 - .160 AVE, .225 OBP, .269 SLG
2008 - .259 AVE, .310 OBP, .429 SLG
2009 - .183 AVE, .245 OBP, .239 SLG

Also a pattern here as well. The Yankees are happy with his approach to right-handers and will work to correct him against left-handers.

I'm not sure what the Diamondbacks get. They must have seen Kennedy. He was playing in their backyard for the past two months.

[brian]

Rumors out there that Scherzer is not viewed to be future starting material. I did not take the time to look into whether or not that is founded.

I would think that if Granderson could have been corrected to start hitting lefties, it would have been done long ago. His .614 career OPS against LHP is most concerning. There has been a lot of noise about the need for Boston to respond. If I was them, I would add some more left-handed pitching.

[da_big_kid_94]

Rumors out there that Scherzer is not viewed to be future starting material. I did not take the time to look into whether or not that is founded.

I would think that if Granderson could have been corrected to start hitting lefties, it would have been done long ago. His .614 career OPS against LHP is most concerning. There has been a lot of noise about the need for Boston to respond. If I was them, I would add some more left-handed pitching.

That is the obvious way of looking at it ... however, here is where the balanced schedule comes into play. As of today (12/11/09) , in the 78 games the Yankees are scheduled to play against the AL East, there are currently a maximum of TWO possible left handed starters on the rosters of the other four teams in the division ... Jon Lester and Brett Cecil. And only the Jays (when healthy) have a bullpen that matches up well with the Yanks, lefty wise. Now, that is NOT to say that teams like Baltimore can't get a few lefties added - but I would say that the quality of such lefties would be suspect at the very least. They ain't easy to find these days.

[Todd Zola]

I suspect the winkie above connoted a little sarcasm but...

Other southpaw starters in the division...

Matusz -- BALT
Romero -- TOR
Rzepczynski --TOR
Purcey -- TOR
Price -- TAM

As far as the bullpens go, it's hard to find a JP Howell type, safe to use for multiple batter regardless of their handedness, but it is not hard to find a LOOGY (lefty one out guy). The quality of said LOOGYs will be the same in the AL East as they have been in the AL Central, etc.

[da_big_kid_94]

To be fair, the Jays are the best equipped team to face the Yankees lefty wise ...I should have included Romero and Rzep as starters. Matusz and Price? I'll wait for further seasoning on these two . Purcey isn't being considered as a starter by Cito (at least not as of last September) , but he is a part of a very lefty bullpen (Downs, Carlson, Tallet, et al), so the lefty matchups there are the best in the division against the Yanks.

[Todd Zola]

You inclusion of Cecil implies we were talking quantity, not quality.

In a general sense, I don't agree with the bullpen concerns for any team. Most will have 1 if not 2 that can be brought in to face Granderson in a high-leverage situation if needed.

You've already highlighted Toronto's stable of southpaws, add in JP Howell and Choate for TAM and at least 2 lefties in Boston and that covers 3 of the 4 division rivals.