Don’t Discount Hoffmann
By Mike Silva ~ December 11th, 2009. Filed under: Yanks Minors.
I know it’s unlikely that Jamie Hoffmann ever dons Yankee pinstripes, but did you think Freddy Guzman would be on the Bombers postseason roster at the beginning of last season? Hoffmann was selected first in the Rule V draft in exchange for Brian Bruney, which appears to be the Yankees way of addition by subtraction. As we talked about during the second hour of NYBD Radio, Bruney’s antics in Trenton last June, which led to the fight with the Mets Francisco Rodriguez, was one of many things that annoyed the Yankees. For all his talent, Bruney never seemed to get it together on and off the field.
Hoffmann didn’t hit well during his cup of coffee in Los Angeles last year (1, 7, .182), but he has some interesting MILB splits. He is right handed, has power, and appears to hit left handed pitching well. It’s no secret with the addition of Curtis Granderson, and possible returns of Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, a right handed bench bat would be helpful. Hoffman is no scrub as he was ranked by Baseball America as the Dodgers best defensive outfielder and was an All Star third baseman in 2004.
You often hear that a player “isn’t a Yankee type player”. As if only stars like Mantle, Berra, and DiMaggio are eligible to help them win pennants. During the Yankees run in the nineties there were tons of nondescript players that contributed to championships. Off the top of my head Jose Vizcaino, Luis Sojo, Glenallen Hill, and Chad Curtis come to mind.
Why spend money on someone like Reed Johnson if you can get the same, perhaps better, production from Jamie Hoffmann. Even the Yankees, according to Brian Cashman, have a budget although that will remain a mystery. I would reserve all my available savings for a run at Halladay or Lackey.
Just because Hoffmann isn’t a household name doesn’t mean he can’t, or won’t, make the Yankees team.
Oh, and one last interesting note about Bruney. There was no audio or video during his odd interview execept one taken by me. One of the local beat writers left because the interview was starting to get boring. I had to tell him in the press box after about the incident which made news. The lesson I learned from that day is never walk out of an interview early because you just don’t know what will be said! If you have a few minutes you can download Bruney’s odd rant here.
