933 OPS also leads all receivers.Ĭhavez is not playing nearly as much as Martin, who has played every inning of all but one game.

Offensive contribution was viewed as a fringe benefit, especially because the Yankees were braced for a severe dropoff with one of the 10-best hitting catchers ever, Jorge Posada, becoming the designated hitter.Įxcept, Martin has four homers, one less than last year and one more than any other catcher in the majors. A two-time All-Star who crumbled physically and production-wise for the Dodgers, Martin was signed by the Yankees and told defense must be his priority. Martin has been the most valuable of the group. Just consider that after two starts Chris Young looked like Cy Young for the Mets and now, familiarly, is on the disabled list again with more arm problems.īut, at a moment of need, the Yankees have been able to rely on The Restorations to produce the only winning record (9-5) in the AL East. Will the good old days continue for this over-and-done crew? The odds are strongly against it, considering either age or fragility. And, with the score tied and two out in the eighth, Chavez delivered the go-ahead RBI single. Martin homered in the fifth inning with Chavez aboard. Thanks to two members of The Restorations - Martin and Chavez - the Yankees beat the Rangers 6-5 last night. In other words: Fix a jalopy and the most you could get is the best version of a jalopy, but restore a Mercedes, well, you get something worth having. What do you get with a reclamation project of an average player?” “If you are going to do a reclamation project then do it with these types of players because if there is still something there and it comes out, you are getting all or a big part of a star.

“One thing to remember is that all of these players were stars,” said Billy Eppler, the Yankees’ director of professional scouting. Each has made a case to hold off on a baseball obituary. Ink Russell Martin, Andruw Jones and Mark Prior and trigger, “I’ll take one-time NL All-Stars for $1,000, Alex.”īy the time the Yankees got around to Kevin Millwood and Carlos Silva, it just felt like throwing darts at a dartboard and those names came up rather than Kenny Rogers, Odalis Perez or Matt Morris.Įxcept, early this season it is proving to be not too late for Chavez, Colon, Garcia, Martin and Jones. With each signing of a used- to-be star this past offseason, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his front office received greater abuse.Īgree to terms with Eric Chavez, Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia and unleash, “Hey, if the 2005 season breaks out, the Yankees are golden.”

Jalopy game scrap yard