Jaret Wright projections

[raiders_umpire]

i imagine by july he will wish he had stayed with mazzone....even though he would have a better chance of getting a world series ring with the yanks then the braves...he would have been a much better pitcher with the braves

[stumpak]

It's inconcievable that he will be traded for RJ. Whay would the DBacks do that? If they wanted him they just could have signed him.

[trevisc]

if that's the case then I like his chances of a sucessful year. At least in whip/era

Wow you really hate the yankees!

no..i don't hate the yankees I've just been watching how all these young studs come to their team and totally flop. it has to be something they are doing because once they leave they usually rebound

[Transmogrifier]

Wright cannot be traded till June 15 without his consent. Why would he want to go to Arizona?

[Cornbread Maxwell]

I'm not so sure that he's going to fail. After Weaver, Brown & Vaz, it seems everyone thinks that every SP not named Randy Johnson is doomed to failure when they put on the pinstripes. I think his ERA will go up due to the DH, but I can't see how anyone can project a compete collapse based on other pitcher's perceived lack of performance. I remember when a move to the Yankees was seen as a positive. Now...not so much...unless your name is Randy Johnson. Look at the 3 "failures...

1. Weaver-Was the Tigers "Ace" before he arrived. Does that really mean alot?
2. Brown-Came in an old injury-prone pitcher on the decline. Yankees pretty much got what they paid for.
3. Vasquez-His home/road splits indicate that he was not in awe of pitching in New York. His struggles came on the road. His home #s were: 104.2 IP, 88 H, 81 K, 4.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP. His ERA was a bit higher than maybe some projected, but everything else looks fine to me.

Perhaps people shold keep their expectations realistic. They'll be less likely to be disappointed. I, for one, think Wright will be just fine.

A couple things I have to disagree with you on.
First - the reason many are predicting a down yr in NY doesnt lie solely on the "death to NY pitchers" theory. He had one of the best (if not the best) pitching coaches in the league last yr, and pitchers have a history of having down years after they leave Mazzone's tutelage. Also, Wright doesnt really have a statistical history that indicates last yr wasnt a fluke. Then, after those negatives, he goes to a team that has a recent history of signing very good pitchers only to have them fail.
Second - I agree somewhat about Weaver - he was actually a good pitcher, but still not really polished by the time the Yankees traded for him. Being on the Tigers means nothing other than maybe his ERA was slightly inflated if anything. So, it wasnt the fact that he was the Tigers "Ace", but actually that he was considered one of the best young pitchers in the game at the time - it just so happened he was in Detroit.
Third - You are way off on Brown. Simply put, he is still one of the best pitchers in the game today. There were a ton of people who had written him off, just like you did, prior to 2003. He answered those doubts by pitching 211 innings with a 2.39ERA, 1.14WHIP, and a K/9 close to 8. Thats when the Yankees targeted him. Last yr - he was quite arguably the Yankees best pitcher - among the SPs he was second only to El Dookie in ERA and led the SPs in WHIP. Had he not had such an unfortunate accident he could probably have had that much better of a season. Even though he was the best SP on the team his %s were still high for his average - which can be somewhat explained by the move from LA to NY.
I agree with you on Vaz.

[Registered_Guest]

12-15 4.75 ERA 1.40 WHIP

[El Jefe]

Hey Cornbread, I'm glad we agree on Vasquez. I admit that I was surprised by Brown's 2003 season, as I'm sure many others were. I don't think Brown or any of the three are "bad" pitcher. I've spent a good deal of time trying to trade for Vaz this off-season, because I feel he's gonna bounce back in a big way...whether he's with the Yankees or not. I was just trying to say that I don't really buy the notion that pitchers are doomed to fail in New York just because others haven't lived up to expectations. I added Brown because I'm sure Yankee fans expected more than 22 starts, 10 Wins, and and ERA of 4.09 from him. Especially after his stellar 2003 season. As bad as the Yankee rotation was last year, being called the Yanks best starter carries about as much weight as being named the Tigers "Ace". Wright may fall on his face or maybe he won't. Either way, it won't have anything to do with the Weaver or Vaz's recent history. It's got everything to do with his health and maintaining whatever mechanical adjustments he made last season. I have him in one of my dynasty leagues, so I guess I'm obligated to stand up for him.

[WeaponsMasProduction]

I think wright will have a pretty rough time of it. i think stottlemyre must be the worst pitching coach in baseball. how he got to be so "respected" is beyond me.

[LBJackal]

I think wright will have a pretty rough time of it. i think stottlemyre must be the worst pitching coach in baseball. how he got to be so "respected" is beyond me.

The fact that he taught Todd how to pitch should have been enough to let everybody know that he isn't a good pitching coach

I wonder if he taught him how to slide too (Jays fans will get that one).