Article on Russ Davis/Hitchcock Trade from '95

[NWinAZ]

BASEBALL - Yanks' Martinez Trade Talks Stall - NYTimes.com

This doesn't mention Pettitte, but it did mention another famous Yank that was almost ours.

 

[NWinAZ]

Pettitte was almost a Phillie - and a Mariner - NY Daily News

 

[NWinAZ]

And the kicker to this deal of missing out on Pasada and Pettitte was that an article I read said Martinez only wanted a minimal increase from the M's yet they traded him because they thought he was going to ask for a major increase. Was jack the GM then?

 

[SeattleCoug]

But But we got Paul Sorrento and then David Segui

Good find though. I knew about the rumors of Pettitte being involved but had no idea about the Posada and Bobby Ayala dynamics.

 

[wazzu31]

And the kicker to this deal of missing out on Pasada and Pettitte was that an article I read said Martinez only wanted a minimal increase from the M's yet they traded him because they thought he was going to ask for a major increase. Was jack the GM then?

Good fine after the discussion we brought up. I still can't really fault Woody for that deal because the Mariners were a small market team at the time and had Griffey, RJ, Edgar, Buhner to keep. I'm also just guessing but I bet part of their plans were also to move Edgar to 1B since there really wasn't a precedent for an all star 1B was there?

Woody made some horrible deals but I still can't fault him for that one. The Lowe and Varitek deal comes to the top of the mind about horrible moves.

 

[NWinAZ]

But But we got Paul Sorrento and then David Segui

Good find though. I knew about the rumors of Pettitte being involved but had no idea about the Posada and Bobby Ayala dynamics.

I tried not to touch on the Ayala part. Too many bad memories...lol.

 

[NWinAZ]

Good fine after the discussion we brought up. I still can't really fault Woody for that deal because the Mariners were a small market team at the time and had Griffey, RJ, Edgar, Buhner to keep. I'm also just guessing but I bet part of their plans were also to move Edgar to 1B since there really wasn't a precedent for an all star 1B was there?

Woody made some horrible deals but I still can't fault him for that one. The Lowe and Varitek deal comes to the top of the mind about horrible moves.

I blame Woody for a couple of things:

1- Not trying to sign Tino first. The reported cost to stay was a lot less than M's thought but never asked.

2- He has no judge of talent obviously. Turned down Pasada and Pettitte over Davis and Hitchcock? And we were so close to getting Rivera in another deal. Those 3 could have changed the franchise around....wait we probably would have dealt them for another Kevin Mitchell type anyways...

 

[wazzu31]

I blame Woody for a couple of things:

1- Not trying to sign Tino first. The reported cost to stay was a lot less than M's thought but never asked.

2- He has no judge of talent obviously. Turned down Pasada and Pettitte over Davis and Hitchcock? And we were so close to getting Rivera in another deal. Those 3 could have changed the franchise around....wait we probably would have dealt them for another Kevin Mitchell type anyways...

Ya, I'm just saying that is hindsight. Now looking back on it Pettitte is better but I don't really think there was one clear one above the other. The M's didn't need a catcher as Wilson was back there, and Wilson was a much better catcher than Posada was. Posada was better offensively but the M's didn't need more offense, they needed pitching and defense and a the albatross of a LF.

The Kevin Mitchell, the Slocumb and the Spoljarek and heck even the Eric Anthony deals were killers because Woody dealt guys who would've been stars for the organization or highly touted prospects for basically nothing or a semi all star at the end of his career. No way the top rated prospect in Cruz Jr should net a shitty package, nor should all the pitchers involved in the Mitchell and Anthony deal netted two guys who really had no future.

A rotation of RJ, Hampton, Swift and Bosio certainly would've looked good.

 

[NWinAZ]

I agree on the Pasada part and the fact we had Wilson, but grab talent regardless of position as often as you can. I think they bought the Yankee hype on Davis instead.

As far as Pettitte over Hitchcock goes, the Yanks preferred him so there must have been something there that M's didn't see. Mental makeup for one. Pettitte was a bulldog while Hitchcock was a poodle. Have to scout those things.

 

[NWinAZ]

BASEBALL: NOTEBOOK;Davis and Hitchcock Settle In With Seattle



By MURRAY CHASS
Published: March 24, 1996






Successful or not, Tino Martinez will be remembered as the player who replaced Don Mattingly. But include Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock in the future trivia question because they are the players who were traded for the player who will be remembered as the player who replaced Don Mattingly.
Aware as they are of their place in Yankees history, Davis and Hitchcock have other players to thank for the move they made to Seattle during the winter. For Hitchcock, that player is Andy Pettitte; for Davis, Wade Boggs.
Discussing his uncertain status with the Yankees, Hitchcock said: "I probably could pitch well there. Unfortunately for me, Andy Pettitte came along and did a real good job for them. They're real high on him. He was in a position that I've been the last three years there, and they didn't want to get rid of him and they were willing to get rid of me. I owe a lot to Andy."
Like Hitchcock, Davis would have been happy to stay in New York if he had been assured of a regular job. But Boggs's presence rendered him a part-timer at best.

​

"In New York, time just ran out," Davis said. "Once they signed Wade Boggs back to a two-year deal, I knew I wasn't going to come in and waste a spot on the bench, come in and play maybe once every two weeks. It was a good move."
Hitchcock, who has five more weeks as a 24-year-old, has filled one of the holes in the Mariners' rotation. Davis, 26, is their third baseman, replacing Mike Blowers, who, like Martinez, was traded for payroll-reduction purposes. Their performances will be scrutinized because the Mariners are the defending American League West champions.
"It's nice to be counted on," Hitchcock said. "I put a lot more pressure on myself. I have a lot of expectations of myself, so it's not going to be something new to me. I like the team a lot. There are some tremendous players in here, some very gifted people."
Because Blowers hit 23 home runs and drove in 96 runs last season, Davis will be expected to be an offensively productive third baseman as well as a solid defensive player. A slow starter in the minor leagues, Davis developed into a good-hitting third baseman and strung together three solid seasons in the Yankees' system.
He made his first visit to the Yankees in 1994, spending a week with the team when Mattingly went on the disabled list. But his inability to win a steady job on the major league roster was typical of the experience of young Yankee prospects.
"It was something I tried not to worry about," Davis said. "I had so many good people around me to help me with my spirits. They knew I was in a tough situation. As long as I kept my head screwed on right, I knew sooner or later I was going to get an opportunity. I did what they said because I knew there were other teams out there and something would happen eventually. It did, and I'm grateful."
Yet he can't help but feel some regret that he didn't get the chance Derek Jeter has now as the Yankees' starting shortstop.
"They're high on him and they should be," Davis said. "It was just bad timing for me. I feel they hated to give me up, but they had to find a replacement for Don Mattingly and Tino was the answer. It takes a special person to play in New York. The fans were good to me, but I didn't play very much and I didn't give them the opportunity to run me out of New York."
Hitchcock became a starter with the Yankees in the weeks leading up to the 1994 strike, then started regularly last season. But the handful of times he missed his turn left him less than thrilled with his status.
"I'll know every fifth day what I'm doing," he said, looking forward to his role with the Mariners. "That wasn't the case all the time in New York. I know I'm wanted here and I'm going to get the ball every fifth day. That's the big thing."


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Another good insight article touching on Pettitte and Jeter. Love this stuff in retrospect.

 

[NWinAZ]

Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees - Joel Sherman - Google Books

It wouldn't cut and paste, but a littl down in the article in talks about the attitude of Pettitte and why Yanks wouldn't trade him. This is what true champions have and Hitchcock didn't. Good piece.

Page 173 if it gets messed up.

 

[wazzu31]

I totally get you and all that stuff, I just think that is the definition of a hindsight deal. You can't scout make up and Russ Davis ceiling was suppose to be alot higher than Blowers could've been. I didn't see in the article what the deal would've been for Rivera but dealing for a set up guy/closer isn't generally something you do unless he is a toss in piece.

Scouts to me are a dime a dozen, I got into baseball right after Prior became a stud at SC and that's all scouts were looking for in terms of perfect mechanics, perfect this perfect that. When that isn't what baseball is all about. My dislike for certain scouts is why I am on the negative side of Jack because he is just a glorified scout IMO.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

And the kicker to this deal of missing out on Pasada and Pettitte was that an article I read said Martinez only wanted a minimal increase from the M's yet they traded him because they thought he was going to ask for a major increase. Was jack the GM then?

This trade told me this organization wasn't concerned about winning ... And the saddest part was how much better the Yankees got with this trade.... They won the World Series and we didn't even make the playoffs in 96.....