OaklandYankee

Melky's numbers just keep getting better and Cano, though his average is waaay down and his power is slightly down, is decent and his defense is above par. I don't see why the Yanks don't lock them up to cheap extensions now or in a year or two. See, they will both develop into 20 HR guys who are great in the field, i can feel it. Melky is gonna hit about 8 HR's this year (though i think he'll get a power surge and end up with about 11 HR's) and probably bat about .285 with about 70 RBI's. Not bad, not bad at all.

And Cano is also on pace for about 13 HR's, a .300 or better average and almost 90 RBI's. Also not bad.

And they're still developing.

Obviously I'd ride out the bulk of their current contracts, but when it comes to arbitration and extension time, I'd lock them both up for about 9 years. They'd both be Jeter's age when the contracts expired. Plus you could lock them up for relatively cheap. Say...about 9 years and roughly $80 million each?

Because that's still pretty big money. In a few years 100 million will be standard for an average player and really great powr guys will be getting 160 to 200 million, standard. So 80 million over nearly a decade is better then half price for the type of platers these two will be in a season or two.

Anyway, with that in mind...I want the Yanks to lock these guys up. See, the way I figure it, the Yanks are always better with home grown talent. A few examples aside. Like Scott Brosius and Paul O'Neill, etc.

But then you have Jeter, Williams, Posada, Chien Ming Wang, Mariano Rivera, etc.

Anyway...what do people think?

stejay

Yes, they should definately get extensions

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Kitty

I would give them both extensions but I wouldn't OD on the salaries.

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OaklandYankee

I'm not talking about O.D.-ing on their extensions, but give them something fare. For instance, I think Nick Swisher, a 30-40 HR guy, is worth at least 9 million a year, yet his extension gives him about 5 million a year. The A's kinda shafted him. He deserved more. I just don't want the Yanks shafting Melky and Cano, that's all.

Kitty

I'm not talking about ODing on their extensions either, I'm taking about ODing on the amount of money they will receive. I wouldn't go overboard in paying them a huge amount of money. If anything Wang, should be locked up before those 2.

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

OaklandYankee

Wang would be good to lock up, too. He's on pace for a 17-6 record and a decent ERA. IMO, they should lock all three up in the next two years, tops. And if he's for real, though it's barely been a week, Shelly Duncan could replace Giambi...Dreams can come true...

You could feisably lock up all 3 for five years each at a total 120 million. 30 over 5 for both Melky and Cano, and 60 over 5 for Wang.

nyjyrk

They should do whatever they can to lock up Melky, Cano, and Wang. They have the nucleus of a good team, and with some studs coming up from the minors, should be excellent for years to come. Hopefully we can get back to the days of growing our own talent and adding key players instead of trying to rule the free agent market. The 96 - 2000 Yanks were mostly guys from the organization.

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My Trivia Game

OaklandYankee

That's what I've been saying all along! I think we started going downhill when we picked up guys like Giambi and Kevin Brown through ridiculous free agent signings. And now look at us; Jaret Wright was a bust. Randy Johnson was a bust. Carl Pavano barely even played for us. Kyle Farnsworth is a bust. Giambi is a semi-bust. A-Rod, it's yet to be seen....

I say 30 for Melky and Cano, 60 for Wang and groom Shelley Duncan into a powerful first baseman/DH who can hit 30+ HR's a year, pray that guys like Phillip Hughes are the real deal, and then maybe, just maybe, we can create a winning team out of nothing and also, inadevertently prove ourselves wrong and win it all with the A's philosophy, which I think is a good one, though Billy Beane takes it too far. But that's for another thread...