the second coming of Carl Pavano. Jackson, in the opinion of some (ymmv) is an upgrade over Scherzer and the loss of Scherzer and Schlereth (another #1 pick) is a net gain off the books when you add Kennedy into the #4/5 SP mix with Augenstein, Buckner and Mulvey. Call this a hedging your bets move, as some have opined that the delivery styles of both Scherzer and Schlerth would suggest arm trouble sooner, rather than later. There is a contract balance issue at play here as well that may have entered into the thinking that this deal allows money to now be spent elsewhere.

Which the organization is assuming, and which is a safe assumption given that he’s leaving the Bronx, going back to close by where he’s from (California), and had some darn good AAA numbers last year, then you get a net 4th starter and 3rd starter upgrade for $4.2M, 3 years of control on the #3 starter (the biggest thing we gave up), and Schlereth, who needs to develop some control before he can be anywhere near effective.

Jackson and Kennedy will fill the #3 and #4 slots for around $5-6M combined, while Scherzer plus a Penny/Marquis-type FA would cost around $8-10M. The key is whether Kennedy can live up to his minor league stats.

I agree of most everything.

Biggest factors to me here are difference is strikout rate, service time, and fit.

1. There is debate as to whether Scherzer or Jackson is better going forward. Injuries aside, I think the best indicator for a young pitcher (but with a decent enough sample size) is whether he can make batters swing and miss. There is a clear winner here.

2. Service time is also not close. Having Kennedy for so long helps cushion the blow, but he is one of the lessor players here. The difference between Max and Edwin in team control is upsetting.

3. How well does this fit? Edwin takes Max’s place; close enough to a push for next year. Kennedy takes ???. Is he better than Buckner? Augestine? Mulvey? Maybe, but I’d take the field over Kennedy at this point. Particurly as he is a flyball pitcher coming to the second best hitters park in the majors. He also is seen as a command guy and low on “stuff”. That translates to better success in the minors than in the majors.

Finally, we’ve lost roughly half of the war chest we had reserved for the off-season. I guess it can all go to a batter or reliever at this point, but it doesnt seem like enough to offset the long term hit we’ll be taking here.

posted back to back winning seasons, one with the Jays and one with the Tigers. His walks have decreased and his K’s are up. Maybe it isn’y a career year and the guy is simply developing into a quality pitcher. At least that is the hope. Kennedy looked good in the AFL, the anuerism is seen as a fluke injury when compared to issues with shoulders and elbows. Not everyone thrives in NY, just ask Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano.

I too wanted to see Schlereth and Scherzer develop but I really think that the pundits get way too caught up in potential while overlooking actual performance, Max had a good intro in 2008 and was winless, 2009 showed he had issues pitching to contact and indicated that he had not developed another quality pitch he could rely on as of yet. Daniel has filthy stuff, the problem is, if it’s so far out of the strike zone, who’s gonna swing at it? Will Max develop another pitch, maybe, Will daniel be able to find his control, perhaps. Both have been tagged for the strain that they place on their arms due to their motions, averages say, those guys break down more often.

What isn’t mentioned is that the club must believe that they are close to contending. They get back their top pitcher and their best contact hitter. So they see the opportunity to succeed now and are making cost effective moves to get there.

Jackson was actually drafted as an outfielder. I think it’s fair to say his learning curve, and scope for improvement, is likely greater than Scherzer.