On the Yankees beat

For pure entertainment value, quoting Hank is a riot. Yeah, as a fan he makes me wince. But if I wanted Fred Wilpon, I'd root for the Mets.

Keep Hank on speed dial.

Hank is infatuated with the "prestige and power" of running the greatest franchise in sports history. I like hearing him "blow off", but he's going to get burned. Kat, you better enjoy this while you can. This river is gonna run dry very quickly.

The asking price is too much.. lets just forget it and go after Bedard. I know the dodgers are looking into him as well.

I know they're just prospects but still you never know how will they'll turn out to be.

Hughes/Cabrera/Jackson. Thats a lot of outfield we're going to miss

Roy,

C'mon. Admit it. If you had Hank's job, how would you feel about the power and prestige?

Me? I'd be George Costanza with a better-looking secretary.

ED-
I prefer the role of "king maker". Being the "man behind the curtain", is far less perilous, and puts one in a better position to judge the character and credibility of others. A guy in Hank's position needs to surround himself with people who have these "rare" qualities.

I have to agree with Roy that Hank's penchant for divulging information will be short lived. He will get himself in trouble soon and learn from his mistakes. It will be really interesting to hear his quotes during the season, especially if things aren't going well at the moment.

Kat: You are awesome! I've tried to make that point about Santana not reaching free agency so many times but some of my fellow bloggers are being very stubborn and insisting he will get there.

Once the season starts, The Man will be Joe Girardi. He'll be the public face of the Yankees. And he'll be great at it.

For now, it's either Randy Levine, Hank Steinbrenner or nothing. (Or the Jets and Knicks.)

To paraphrase someone: You go into battle with the Managing General Partner you have, not the Managing General Partner you want. Hank's a blabbermouth. But now he's *our* blabbermouth.

I disagree. I think there's definitely a chance that Santana becomes a free agent.

3 things need to happen for Santana to forgo free agency:

1. A team agrees to trade 3-4 of their top prospects and major league ready players to the Twins.

2. A team agrees to give Santana the long term deal that he wants. Perhaps as long as 7 years at close to $25M per.

3. Santana has to a waive his no trade clause.

From the potential acquiring team's standpoint, they might be willing to pay him that much but how many will be willing to also trade away all that good and cheap talent? Those young affordable players are how most teams can afford to have one pitcher taking up a huge chunk of their total payroll. If you make that deal, you end up having to sign other free agents to take the young players spots or promote lesser players.

I don't know if there are any teams that are going to be willing to do that. A lot of the teams mentioned in the Santana sweeptstakes are the same ones who were interested in ARod. It appeared that none of them were going to give ARod the money he got, why would they give Santana, who works every 5th day, close to that money plus give up their best prospects?

I think Santana's best chance of getting the most money is to have all those teams in a bidding war without having to lose their top prospects. There's definite value to not having to give them up, that they can pass on to whatever Santana is asking for. I just don't see a team doing both.

For a deal to happen, the Twins and Santana are going to have to lower their asking price. I don't see that happening. I do see Santana getting traded at the trade deadline for lesser prospects but no contract extension as the Twins realize that he's leaving and want to get back something in return. And then next offseason, Santana will have the bidding war he wants and teams will be more than happy to only have to give up money to get him.

I just thought I woul let everyone know what Mr. Mark Feisand says about this situation and it seems that he does not agree with Kat on this one. Mark said "If I were the Yankees, I wouldn’t make the deal. I know it sounds crazy not to want to add a 28-year-old stud ace lefthander, but the price is simply too high. Dealing Hughes, who has been projected as a top of the rotation guy, is silly. Keep him, and use the $25 million a year to add pitching some other way.

Think of it this way – there aren’t many teams that can afford to sign Santana to the six-year, $150 million contract he wants. If he doesn’t get that, he’s going to become a free agent next year and then the Yankees can go sign him while retaining Hughes."

Jim A - Although I complete agree with you and Kat that Santana will be dealt and signed to a long term extension, there is a possibility that he may reach free agency if he chooses so. If reports are correct, he may block any trade and stay there all of next season. But of course it won't happen.

I think Hank is just talking to the media to show that he’s the one running the show and not George. I’m sure he’s a smart man who won’t blabber just about anything. This act won’t last much as A-Roy pointed out (hahaha, I loved the little nickname, hahaha). BC’s job and Girardi are not in question.

Guys, prepare for a long and slow week in rumors and deals. With the Winter Meetings, no one will be overly active.

Kat

Thank you soooo much for pointing out the FACT that Santana will NOT be a FA next year for us to sign!!!! That is exactly what I tried to lay out yesterday for these knuckleheads, but as usual, most of them didn't get it.

I like Hank's new style.

I like that Hank is out there and full of bluster and confidence. Look if there's one thing we can all agree on it is that the majority of owners in sports are too grumpy and serious. Hank seems to be enjoying his role as team spokesman and, if nothing else, it gives a reprieve to Cashman. Rather than answer questions from Kat or anyone else, he can do his job behind the scenes and leave the public speaking to Hank.

Rick,

Kat may be right, Santana might not hit free agency, but my point in bringing it up was that if the Twins stuck to their high demands and the teams that could afford Santana stuck to their guns in not meeting their demands then Santana would be a free agent. If the rumors are true and the players have been agreed upon pending a contract for Santana then I would say it is moot.

The more important question at this stage is, again, if the rumors are true and Wang, Melky, Tabata and Brett Gardner are the deal - who plays CF for the Yankees next season? Do they run Damon out there and Matsui in LF with Giambi at DH? Do they call up Austin Jackson who has never played above AA and insert him as the everyday CF? I think the kid is really good, but I'm not sure he's ready yet. I'm still dead set against signing Aaron Rowand - do they try to get someone on a short term deal or make another trade for a player (Ryan Freel?) who could play the position?

As one who has had occasion to be interviewed by both print and TV reporters in a tricky situation, I always have sympathy for the interviewee and admiration for people like Jeter who manage to be cordial day after day without falling for a single leading question. Those who haven't been in the deep waters should not be too quick to criticize those who flounder a bit (or those who seem awfully close-mouthed) -- you might make false steps too! I know I did. Too bad Jeter's clinic had not begun to run at that time!

Hank is on a learning curve. Let's see how he does. I don't mind 'apparent' openness as long as no critical info passes his lips. Remember how well it served both Torre and the Yankees that he was able to schmooze endlessly with the press and rarely in those many hours did he let slip anything regrettable. It can be done, it helps the team, and it would be very nice if Hank could master that kind of skill.

And no, you'll never find a 'Diane highlights reel'. It was long ago in another country and that girl is dead.

When you sell your soul, the price is always high.

Championships are the Yankee goal not contending teams. With this in mind if we keep pitching and loss OF's then its not bad. OF's canbe found in any organization without much issue. But, I could quickly go after Bedard or Kazmir if the Twins up the ante to the rediculous or another team is competing to drive the yankee price higher. Walk away and go after some other quality pitchers from the likes of Balt. or Tampa.

Chip

Same point I made about trading Melky in the last thread - leaving us with an unproven rookie, or 3 old, injury-prone guys.

Everyone (especially Bronx Bomber) says he's replaceable but I disagree - Rowand isn't the answer, and we would have to give up too much to trade for an answer.

Chip -

Perfect example is the dodgers who is flooded with OF talent. we have some that can do the job not in CF so if need be we move a damon over or.... CAN BOBBY A PLAY CF??? i dunno know the answer to that but I don't want to miss out on a pitcher and hold on to someone who is not that worthy of being held on to.

I would cringe at every swing and miss and then watching Johan win another CY haha.

seriously there are options for CF , we could even (IF NEED BE) trade for edmonds who still is adequate out there until Austin is ready and if he is not then you make a big splash

I think we will all be surprised to see what the deal ends up being for Santana.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Yanks are able to hold onto Huges, Chamberlain and Kennedy. The Twins are pretty stocked in the minors with pitching. They have so much pitching that they have entertained the idea of dealing Matt Garza(a solid #2 on most teams) They have Liriano coming back, Scott Baker, Garza and some other youngsters.

Also, remember when we dealt for Cone-we didn''t have to salvage the farm-same with Knoblauch and Wells.

I heard a report that the Twins consider themselves masters at identifying low level prospects and may have their eyes set on something we know nothing of.

Do you guys need to be hit over the head with a shovel, or what? The Twins will not let Santana walk and get only a couple draft picks. If they have to, they will lessen their player demands for Santana. Santana can get the money and length of contract he wants NOW, so why should he wait a season and risk injury? Yea, he could suffer some kinda freak injury like Zumaya, but that is not likely. Santana will be traded this offseason. Stop the nonsense.

RUSE

WELCOME BACK!!!

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!!

DID YOU GO TO PRISON OR SOMETHING? ;-)

It's good to see you even if you are a felon LOL

You were missed nomsayin!!

BRONX BOMBER-
Jim Edmonds in CF is only "slightly" better than running Bernie back out there. No way.

If we assume that the rumors are true and Wang, Melky, Tabata and Gardner are gone - here are some deals I make to replace what we've lost in getting Santana:

1. Tyler Clippard, Kyle Farnsworth and cash to the Reds for Ryan Freel and Todd Coffey.

The Reds would get a young starter and another arm for their rebuilt pen (with the Yankees picking up a chunk of what's left on Farnsworth's contract) the Reds also get to move the $2 mil left on Freel's contract which they don't need since their OF is likely to be Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton, and Junior. For the Yankees, Freel can either play CF or be a utility player while Coffey adds another young power arm to the pen.

2. Kei Igawa to the Padres for prospects. Igawa will at best be a long reliever it appears, the Padres are interested and if nothing else the Yankees could replace some of the prospects they will have given up in the Santana deal.

3. Jeff Karstens, Steve White to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Chad Cordero. The Yankees may be able to capitalize on Karstens performance for team USA. Cordero is a luxury a bad team like the Nats can't afford and Church is a good OF and bat that could either start in CF (if the Yankees make Freel a utility player) or serve as a 4th outfielder - essentially replacing Melky's role from the start of last season.

PHUCKER

I moved to NY.

If the Yanks trade Melky they will probably move on either Jones or Rowand.Damons late season resurgence was primarily in LF when he hit .351 .He plays an excellent LF .Matsui can DH .

You guys don't think Rowand could replace Melky? That's ludicrous!
All Rowand would cost is money and he plays great defense. I can hear it now....he plays recklessly so he might get hurt so we don't want him...right? That's what I've read on this blog before yet we bash Abreu because he's afraid to go after a ball. Gimme a gamer any time.

Like I said earlier, if we don't want Rowand, Freel is available, there are others all over the place. In March, lots of players will be released and someone to hold the fort for a while until Jackson is ready will be available.

No on giving away the farm for Johan Santana. We all remember the Frank Viola trade.

If this is the deal ...

Kennedy
Hughes
Melky

No, no, no. Not Kennedy and Hughes! No way.

We can go for Bedard, Kazmir, Jeremy Sowers.

Either Kennedy or Hughes, not both. That's retarded.

Santana is good but as the other posters have written, we can use the extra 25 million on Carl Pavano's Porshe insurance or something else equally important.

This is my lineup. I hope George Castanza will implement it. With this lineup we can win the World Series before the season even begins.

CF Jeter/Rowand (Yount was a better player. And he went to CF)
SS A Rod (Where he can be the new face of the team)
3B Cano (or Jeter as SS, Eckstein 2B, A Rod or Cano 3B)
2B David Eckstein (he will lead off) or Brandon Phillips (30 HR)
LF Ludwick (With 500 AB's you get 35 HR's and 99 RBI's)
RF Duncan/Abreu (Unfortunate they wasted 16 million on him)
1B Giambi/Menky/Andy Phillips/Duncan
C Posada/Molina/Nieves
DH Giambi/Damon/Matsui/Duncan

Bench and Rotating in and Out of the Lineup

Matsui
Giambi
Damon
Be A Mitt
Duncan
Molina
Menky

(Some will break down and be hurt like they always do!)

Starting Pitching

Hughes
Kennedy
Wang
Joba
Pettitte or Bedard or Santana or Kazmir or Sowers

Middle Relief

Pervival
Armando Benitez
Bruney
Joba (if he goes to the Pen)

Closer

Mo
Joba (If Mo is hurt)

Dead Wood that should go ...

Abreu
Matsui
Damon (You want him leading off or Eckstein? Please ...)
Giambi
Mussina
Farnsworth
Igawa, his US$ 46 million and those stupid sun glasses

Biggest Needs ...

Lefties in the rotation
Lefties in the pen
Taking pitches
Working the count
Move the runners
Hit behind the runners
Bunt
Tank Top language
Whores and Strip Clubs (No!)
High School Drama Hokey Pokey A-Rod in, A-Rod out, A-Rod in
Cashman not to be cursed (Brown, Irabu, Giambi, Weaver)
Ted Lilly not to beat up the manager
Insurance vs. Economic Depression if and when it hits
Nice Transition to new stadium
Announcers not to cry
Forgetting Torre, Mattingly, Mazilli, Zim
Scott Proctor fleeing LA for Antarctica

CHIP-
If Freel is your "utility player", what happens to Betemit?
Forget all the trade scenarios and pay for Rowand, or go the cheap route and sign Lofton.

JIMBO

I agree Rowand is a throwback type player .He would have to be on the Yankee radar plus he's only 30 yrs old.
To me if Melky is traded it's inevitable they sign Rowand.

AROY:
In no way shape or form do I ever want to see Lofton Back here

Whoever stated above Yount was a better player than Jeter is sadly mistaken.No way Jeter makes a move to CF this yr or any other yr.Who would play short ? Albert Gonzalez ?

Roy -

Been over this, Rowand is going to be a disaster for whomever signs him.

1) He's going to get about 15 mil a year for 5 years

2) He has treated his body like a crash test dummy and once you enter your 30s the body starts rejecting that sort of treatment, expect lots and lots of stints on the DL

3) His offensive numbers are the result of playing in a park that I could hit home runs in.

I'm not looking to sign a guy to a long term deal - I think that Jackson will probably be the starting CF by 2009 (maybe even the end of this season) all I need is a stop gap measure there - that could be Damon for all I care.

As for what happens to Betemit if Freel is on the bench, nothing. Freel (or Church) would be the fourth OF and Betemit would back up the infield. The bench would be: Betemit, Freel, Molina, Duncan.

Pickups from Pete A's lohud yankees blog:

1. Link to story & pic -- Damon in Thailand (his mother's country) feeding orphans:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/sp_nm/thailand_damon_dc_3;_ylt=Avd6wRZpc9g225UKZbuge7AE1vAI

2. And a question being asked there:

Who is Cuz?
Are his sources reliable?

Their interest is piqued but as that blog is uncharacteristically clogged with trolls today they're wary.

Not a peep from me, of course.

WANG???

Um...Is Andy back?

I don't know that we can deal Wang without assurance that Andy will be in the rotation atleast for next year.

Look I LOVE HUGHES and my heart would break losing him so I'd much sooner get rid of Wang.

In fact I'd hoped that we could peddle Wang before any of the big three so this is great news but that was before Andy suddenly got "cold feet" a few weeks ago.

Look if that is the deal and I'm Cashman I make that deal AND QUICKLY TIP TOE VERY QUIETLY TO MY YANKEE HELICOPTOR before they change their minds...

That's how bad I want Santana BUT unless Andy is definitely back next year I'm still pretty worried that we'd be putting too much faith in the 3 kids. 2nd Year pitchers are notoriously inconsistent and come with a considerable amount of risks ie injuries so I'm not sure we should get rid of a perennial force that's brought back 38 reg season W's on back to back years...

Like I said...I make the deal but I'd feel far more comfortable with Andy definitely in the fold.

CHIP-
Careful. Lotta "holes" in that swing of yours.

Being asked on Pete's blog, not in Thailand.

it is clear that Ant colony is bat sh*t crazy. What a loser.

Phucker:

I get the feeling that in the end, Andy will come back to the Yankees. In fact I would guess that before all is said and done the Yankees end up agreeing to a deal where he has infinite options - so in essence he pitches for the Yankees for as long as he wants to. Sort of like what Wakefield has with Boston.

Ant Colony

Jeter in CF, I'll be elected Pope before that ever happens.

Michael,

That's a midnight blue helicopter, right?

Not black.

That was me being silly about helicopters, not anon at all... ;-)

TY,

No one plays SS forever. Where would you like to see JT when his SS days are over? Don't take it personally, but I think that will happen before the cardinals elect you... LOL

Roy,

Exactly, which should tell you all you need to know about Aaron Rowand's actual ability vs. his park aided ones.

On top of that - take a look at how his numbers last season stack up compared to the rest of his career:

HR 27. Next highest was 24 in 2004; average going into last season was 14

RBI 89. Next highest was 69 which he did twice

BA .309. He hit .310 in 2004 but other than those two years he has never in a full season hit over .270 career avg is .286

OBP .374, career OBP is .347

Slugging .515 career is .460

OPS .889 career .800

Diane,

I don't know the answer to their question, I saw a lot of garbage there today and didn't stay, but I do frequent Pete's place at times and I see a few of our folks there once in a while, sometimes with their same moniker, sometimes not (but recognizable due to style or even cross-posting the same message).

CHIP

Rowand was equally good on the Road as he was at home in 07.His numbers are virtually identical.Check.

Glad to see your still plugging away!

Actually Anthony made some sense in some of those proposals yo ujust have to read around alot of it. As jeter becomes older a position shift may happen. I already feel he should be moved in the line up.

When you view what Ant Colony listed as NEEDS there are some on there that rings true. Hopefully Girardi answers that

Hey Ant Colony ......

We the Wasp's are watching you buddy , your colony is at risk ..

Armando Benitez? what you are doing? using Raid as hair spray?

Ruse -

As Rick would say, someone has to be here to keep the knuckleheads in line ;-) Just kidding.

As for Rowand, yeah I saw that about his home/road splits this year - still wouldn't want him for all the reasons I listed.

Jeter will remain the Yankee SS for at least 3 more yrs then I see him as a DH and playing the field on occasion .

Someone was saying Girardi would be the new voice of the Yanks and would be great at it, something to that effect.

He'll be a new voice, but he got crossways with the press in Florida pretty quick. Besides having very little time for them.

I think Diane's right. Maybe Hank can learn to handle some of the media stuff. As somebody else pointed out (sorry, lost the name) he's taking pressure off BC even now.

Maybe Girardi learned something spending a season in the broadcast role. But Hank can also take some of the burden off him if it's true that JG doesn't have much patience with the media.

There is no reason in the world the Yanks can't plug in a so-so hitter in CF as long as he would provide good D.I still think either they sign Rowand if Melky is traded or trade for someone we haven't as yet considered.

WFAN is reporting that the Twins have stated they want one of the big three (Joba, Hughes, Kennedy), Melky, and a minor league prospect.

I do not know where the rumors of Wang being included started from. I have seen or heard nothing concrete about this.

If the Yanks can get away with only giving up Kennedy, Melky, and a prospect (preferably not an OF prospect) that should be considered a steal. Holding on to Tabata, Jackson and Gardner should be a priority for the Yanks since they will need to fill RF, CF and LF holes over the next few years.

Chip

What are Church and Freel's numbers. Who is younger? The better outfielder?

I predict that whatever team lands Santana will have to give up a LOT less talent than most people would expect. The reason is because Santana can essentially force a trade to whatever team he wants due to his no trade clause. So if the Yankees pull him aside and promise him some sick deal like 6 years $150 million, Santana can turn to the Twins and say "I will only accept a trade to the Yankees." That leaves the Twins in the position of either 1) trading with the Yankees NOW, or 2) risk getting nothing. This gives the Yankees ALL of the bargaining power and they wouldn't have to give up a prized prospect like Joba, Hughes, or Jackson. So, given the choice between a package of Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera or NOTHING, the Twins will choose Kennedy and Melky. This is how I see things shaking down, whether it's with the Yankees, Sox, Mets, or whoever.

Jeter would never want to be a DH especially when Posada's would be such due to this current contract by that time. jeter would explore the OF especially if there is no real legitimate options out there in the near future and we have a stable player at ss. but who knows maybe arod would make the move

Grampa:

I listened to Girardi all season on YES. He'll be fine. His "falling out" in Florida had nothing to do with the media, and everything to do with nutty ownership.

And as far as not having time, he just signed a deal to talk once a week on WFAN, as well as to talk every night before the game on WCBS AM. He'll have the baseball mind of Billy Martin and the media skills of Joe Torre. As long as he doesn't have the success of Stump Merrill, all will be well with J.G.

Chip,
If the Yankees did sign Rowand, he could be a nice left fielder for them when all the others come off the books in the next couple of years.
The OF could look like this in 2009 or 2010:
LF- Rowand
CF- Jackson
RF- Tabata

That's not too bad. at 30 years old, his contract would be over when he's 35 and who cares about the money?
In a sense I do agree that he may not be the answer, but he's there. A short term solution could be Mike Cameron, with Damon playing CF until he's ready. Cameron is still an above average defender with occasional power and with that lineup, any offense would just be a bonus. I'm thinking as if Cameron would take a one year deal w/ a team option or something like that.

Jon Heyman seems to think that Andy Pettitte will return for two years at some point after he agonizes over it some more. I hope so, I loves me some Andy!

I absolutely hate it. He needs to shut up and stop tipping our hand to the competiton.

Ninja

The Navy Blue one is in Oakland.

Cash took the pin striped chopper to Minnesota lol.

PS. I'm quite sure the only one seeing the "Black Helicopters" is Ant. ;-)

Dave S,

That is EXACTLY what I have been thinking these past few days. I really hope thats how it plays out.

You guys listening to Mike and the Mad Dog? They are saying Santana will be a Yankee "without a doubt" and that he really wants to come to the Yanks.

Dave S: I posted something very similar to yours yesterday, basically I said the Yankees actually do have leverage here even though a lot of people think the Twins have all the cards. That no-trade clause gives Santana and the team he really wants to play for quite a bit of power.

If the Twins were to get stubborn and hold on to Santana until July, they could be making a mistake. If they are contending, they surely won't want to trade him in July and they are telling their fans that they are going to contend so this could put them in a bind. The fans would revolt if they are in contention and trade their best pitcher.

Santana and A-Rod, Posada, Mariano, and Abreu back, and having a great in-game manager in Girardi!!!

The Hank Steinbrenner Era is going to be a great one for the Yankees!!!

Jim -

I like your OF, but Tabata will most likely go in a deal for Santana.

I think right now the issue is: Do the Twins want Wang and Tabata or Kennedy and Gardner (Melky is in any deal). Personally I would rather deal Kennedy and Gardner and keep Wang and Tabata - but we shall see what develops.

As for Santana wanting to come to the Yankees - Santana wants to get paid. If that happens with the Red Sox I assure you that he'll have no angst about donning Boston's colors.

On Rowand - again, I just think that if we could have signed him for years 25-30 that would be one thing, signing him to years 30 - 35 is just asking for a player who will be on the shelf quite a bit.

I want to see a pay per view wrestling match between Carl Pavano and Mike Hampton, just to see who gets hurt the most, and the fastest. I think Mike Hampton may actually win this contest as he was set to pitch for the first time in a year today and strained his hamstring in the first inning....out another month.
Carl Pavano may have been defeated in the "Biggest Loser" contest.

I bet both these guys would get hurt getting into the ring for the event so it may not happen.

Jim A

There ARE alot of ludicrous posters on here. Are you just figuring that out?

Chip

You say Kat might be right. Gee, that's strange, because it was I who was saying the exact same thing yesterday and a week ago and I was CRAZY, as usual. Once again, I called it like it is with Santana and the rest of you guys (you, Viper, Yanks61, etc.) were way off base.

Santana WILL be traded.

The new team WILL get an extension.

He will NOT be available as a FA next year.

This is exactly what I have been saying and you guys just don't get it.

Jim A and Mike M - yeah, it's more or less a game of chicken that the Twins cannot win. They need to resign themselves to the fact that they are not going to get full value for Santana. That's the price you pay when your owner is worth $3 billion yet refuses to shell out money to keep your stars.

Jon Heyman is on M&MD

Rick - what was implied by me saying "Kat may be right" is also that she may be wrong. Santana being traded is a possible scenario, as is the Twins not getting what they want - taking a last run at the division with him and him becoming a FA at the end of the year.

Jim - is he saying anything interesting?

chip, can't you hear them live on your PC??

anon, unfortunately not today - today I'm afraid I'm stuck relying on the kindness of strangers for my fix of M&MD.

Heyman says the Twins asked for Hughes OR Kennedy, Melky and another prospect. He is saying the Yanks are fools not to jump on this deal.
He also says that he doesn't think the Red Sox are all that interested but admits that it would be silly if they weren't, but they are adamant that they will not deal Ellsbury or Buccholz.
Obviously M&MD think the Twins should and will use the Red Sox and Yanks against each other...that's old news to us though.

Heyman does not think the Yanks will go after Rowand...but he says there are guys out there who could fill the spot.

BTW Rick who is this year's Ted Lilly/Bernie Williams? The guy the Yankees need to have or shouldn't have let go who will have you crying in your cream of wheat all season? Are we going to get another "A-Rod by At Bat" log to start the season? These are things I think all of us want to know - what with you being the only person on this ENTIRE SITE who knows the first thing about baseball.

ok I got ya partner,

I'll see if I can give you info as well

If it is Kennedy, Melky, and a prospect not named Austin Jackson - you do the deal. That's all there is to it. I hope he's right about Rowand.

I don't think anyone really thought of Yount moving to CF.

George Bamburger said, "I could put in in to pitch ... and he could get people out!"

Moving Jeter makes sense ... eventually ... beyond the nutty name calling it would open up a lot of possibilities.

A-Rod could play short.

We need a David Eckstein player badly. A leadoff guy who can play small ball. He was at the core of three WS appearances and 2 WS wins for the Angels and Cardinals.

The more I think about it ... if Santana costs Hughes and Kennedy we should not make that trade.

Again, remember Frank Viola and the Mets.

If Santana got hurt and we are down Cano, Melky, Ian and Hughes, that would be like the Herschel Walker trade between Minny and Dallas.

I saw Rowand play and he plays very hard. Granted I got only a limited sample in St. Louis. But he can flat out play. I like Austin Kearns. I like Ryan Freel. They are similar. We need Chad Curtis types.

As for Armando Benetiz, Tom Seaver said while serving as an on field coach "I watch him throw his slider and my knees buckle."

No one on this Blog would want to stand at the plate vs. Benitez.

He throws pretty hard still. With the Mets he did more than ok.

To me he is a long shot but he ...

A. speaks Spanish
B. Mo can help him
C. knows NY
D. knows the Mets and Yanks rivalry
E. Ain't afraid to take the ball
F. Big, strong, intimidating.

Take a flyer. Can't be worse than Farnsworth. He won't be so rude to the media!!!!!

As for the Black Helicopters, the UN acknowledged publically that they use them in drug interdiction missions or something like that. I saw one on Fire Island in 1995 and another near Conroe Texas in 1993. What's the big deal? It's not like people claim they are UFO's with aliens inside.

Now if Carl Pavano was flying in a black helicopter ... that would be very strange!