On the Yankees beat

Well, that's George King for you. Accuracy is not his specialty. Or logic for that matter.

Nonetheless, man, how insanely and moronically stupid would it be for the Yanks to offer that kind of money and 5 year deal with the injury history of Burnett?

Burnett wants ace-like money but has rarely pitched like one.

Please please please don't let this happen. What a disaster he would be.

Viper -

Ken Rosenthal said that he believes the offer is 4 years 60 mil with an option for a 5th year that would take it up to 80 mil. He did not say whether or not it is a player or team or vesting option. Given what the Cubs just gave Dempster - I don't think it's all that out there. Say what you want about Burnett, but he's at least worth 2 mil more a year than Ryan Dempster.

On another note - I listened to Nick Swisher on with Mike Francessa earlier today - sounds legitimately excited to be a Yankee. Pointed out that his best position is first base but he'll play anywhere he's told.

I hope Swisher is on the phone w/ CC right now :)

You would think that the last team in the major leagues to give Burnett a five year deal would be the Yankees, who are still cleaning all that Pavano off their shoes.

News Flash

If the Yankees pass on bringing back Andy (which is entirely possible) and he still wants to pull down a pay check then he will pitch for another team - whether it's the Mets, Astros, Rangers, maybe even the Cards - who knows.

As I said earlier - I get the impression that the Yankees are less than pleased with the way Andy handled his part in the Mitchell Investigation and if they can get Derek Lowe or Mike Mussina to fill out the rotation they'll let Andy find employment elsewhere.

And - when talking about how Andy said that he would only pitch for the Yankees keep in mind that he also said he never used steroids.

Chip

I heard the Swisher interview and he did seem as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.

Good for him. It's nice to hear that genuine excitement that any of us would have if given the same opportunity.

As for Burnett, it matters none to me what Dempster got because I wouldn't want him either. He's a National League pitcher who suits the Cubs well but not the Yanks.

I agree that Burnett is better than Dempster, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. It just goes to show you how insane the market is for mediocre pitching.

Burnett's numbers were nothing special last season if you take away those 5 starts against the Yanks. In fact, his ERA would be worse than Pettitte's - a guy who had a down year by all measures.

And it's a legitimate issue to raise because Burnett would no longer be pitching against the team he has dominated the most the last two years.

I'll say this much, if Burnett does get a 4-year deal with an option from the Yanks - he'll only be in NY for four years because I'd bet my car that the team won't pick up that option.

Four years from now, they'll be glad to get rid of him.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it. His injury history and soft reputation is not a coincidence and Yankee fans are going to find that out real soon if they manage to sign him.

Chip,

Meh, I don't buy any of that stuff about Pettitte. I take him at his word.

Idiot Francesa thinks he might opt to go to the Mets - which is completely moronic and typical Francessa.

Truthfully, I'd rather see Pettitte return next season than Moose.

And I'd rather see Moose come back than sign Burnett or Lowe.

Both Moose and Pettitte would be shorter commitments and I have a lot fewer questions about their ability to pitch in NY than either Lowe or Burnett.

Make no mistake, I don't expect the latter to happen, but that would be the best case scenario in my opinion.

Sabathia
Wang
Moose
Pettitte
Joba

Hughes/Kennedy/Aceves

Viper:

I believe their is a better chance of your rotation less Moose than Brunett or Lowe coming to the Yanks. Other teams will step up the hunt when the Yanks sign CC just to compete. This may draw AJ and Lowe away, no loss. I rather take a shot at Sheets or a trade but no Peavy. If a player can't have the enthusiasm to play in NY than he should be forgotten asap.

am I missing something? Forget Burnett and his injury history (anyone remember a guy named Pavano?) ... forget Lowe too. he's old, decent but not a stud and probably better suited to pitch in the NL. Grab CC (a must) and follow him w/ Wang, Joba, Petitte and Hughes. That's a very solid rotation. Even take a shot at Sheets on a 3 yr. deal for less than what Burnett is asking. If we get nobody other than CC then that's ok ... look at the FA pitchers going into the 2010 season (much better than this group ... other than CC):

* = option
Josh Beckett * BOS
Erik Bedard SEA
Chris Capuano MIL
Justin Duchscherer OAK
Kelvim Escobar LAA
Rich Harden CHC
Tim Hudson * ATL
John Lackey LAA
Cliff Lee * CLE
Brett Myers PHI
Jason Schmidt LAD
Brandon Webb * ARZ
Todd Wellemeyer STL

that list looks MUCH better than this year's options

They should forget Sheets, too.

How can you rip Burnett for his injury history and then advocate signing Sheets?

He's even more fragile than Burnett.

Your not handing a spot to hughes at this point whiel he may be in pinstripes BC is NOT just handing him a spot. and Now that I heard it from the horses mouth in regards to fianance I can say this. With many season ticket holders and Wall street corps backing out of luxary suite deals the yankees know now is not the time to experiment. The ywant to field a powerhouse in attempts in luring back the big buck investors and housing a impact team. With that being said it is very unlikley that they slot both Pettite and Hughes in the rotation. their aim is for Mussina to come and provide the solid pitching that he has done and figure that he woudl be the cheaper option due to the years. With Pettite the worries is health vs Mussina age. which the latter would probally be better, if they lose out on burnett or worse CC you will definitley NOT see hughes in that rotation unless they are absoulutley desperate.

Viper -

I don't take any ball player at his word when the subject turns to $$$.

If the Yankees really want him back, then what's the hold up? He's stated that he wants to pitch for the Yankees in 09, said he'll take a 1 year deal and less than the 16 mil he made last season. Why wouldn't the Yankees just wrap it up and close off one hole in the rotation? The answer (imho) is that the Yankees don't necessarily want him back. They want to see if they can land AJ (who reportedly was offered a deal by Boston) CC, Lowe, and maybe bring back Moose - before reaching out to Andy. Maybe that's because of how he faded down the stretch but I don't think so, I think they're legitimately POed at the guy for what happened last winter and - again, just my opinion - have every right to be. I know that the way he handled himself left a bad impression with me - and I was a huge fan of Andy - so I can only imagine how it went over with the people who actually had to fork over the 16 mil.

Everything right now hinges on whether or not NY signs Sabathia.

If he signs with NY then Pettitte and/or Mussina signings would be forthcoming.

NY would rather have Peavy than Lowe or Burnett if NY doesn't sign Sabathia .Although at this time a Burnett signing seems more likely.

If NY has no real interest in Tex who then is going to play RF and bat 3rd?

Thanks for the update Kat, that last part though "don't plan to offer $80-million to start"...its the 'to start' part that has me worried. I think the FO has their crosshairs on AJ and will throw a ton of money at him. I dont think its a good move, but hey, Id love to be proven wrong. So no talk at all about Ben Sheets Kat?
thanks!

Ruse, I think Nady is a lock for RF. As for the #3 hitter? Thats a good point to debate. I dont think the Yanks are going to sign the kind of hitter that Joe can stick in the #3 hole and not worry about. That means an internal option needs to be found. So what are our options?

1. Put Matusi there ( my favorite idea as long as he's 100% )
2. Put Nady there ( guy makes contact, before a bad Sept, Nady's OBP was in the upper .300's, close to .400 )
3. Move Arod up ( didnt work out too well last time, he K's too much )
4. Move Jeter down ( an interesting idea )

With #4 you get....

Damon
???????
Jeter
Arod
Matsui
Nady
Swisher
Cano
Posada

But who would be #2? Im gonna throw out an option Im sure nobody will like..lol ( here's my 'double reverse, throwback to the QB' play ) What guy in our order would you not think twice about sacrificing, has speed to steal bases and stay out of the double play and sees a lot of pitches? BRETT GARDNER!! OOHHHHH!!!!

Im sure everyone is now licking their chops to respond! haha. Hear me out though...the guy had a .389 OBP in the minors, always had a pace to walk close to 100 times, also at each level it takes him about 150-200 bats to get comfortable.

06-AA = .272 AVG
07-AA = .300 AVG
07-AAA = .260 AVG
08-AAA = .296 AVG
08-MLB = .228 AVG

Maybe we see a Brett Gardner closer to the .290 MiLB hitter this year?

I know I know, its crazy!! Its insane!! Its stupid!! Or maybe, just maybe he can be to the Yanks what Shane Victorino is to the Phils.

Shanes Milb stats compared to Gardners?

Shane
693 Games
.283 AVG
.343 OBP
183 SB
70 CS

Brett
381 Games
.290 AVG
.389 OBP
151 SB
31 CS

Shanes 1st callup to the Majors?
36 Games
73 AB's
.151 AVG
.232 OBP

Brett's 1st callup to the Majors?
42 Games
127 AB's
.228 AVG
.283 OBP

Shanes next callup to the Majors?
153 Games
415 AB's
.287 AVG
.346 OBP

Dustin Pedroia's 1st callup to the Majors =
31 Games
89 AB's
.191 AVG
.258 OBP

Following year
139 Games
520 AB's
.317 Avg
.380 OBP

Just like the NY Lotto Motto...hey, you never know??

Let me be clear though...I think the best option is for Matsui to be the #3 hitter, he is a perfect fit if healthy. Just having some fun with numbers.

Chip,

I think you’re reading way too much into it.

Free agency just started. Hardly anyone has signed, including players retained by their 2008 teams. And that’s not unusual.

Pettitte already proved he’s not your typical ballplayer regardless of money. When he came back from the Astros, he got a player option – not a club option – for 2008 and said he’d either play for the Yanks in 2008 or go home. That’s it.

He could have declined the option and gone on the open market for a better deal (perhaps a multi-year deal), but he didn’t. Instead, he exercised the player option just like he said he would and that was that.

So I take him at his word when he says the same thing a year later.

For the record, he didn’t re-sign last season until Dec 21st. Today is Nov 19th.

Neither Mo nor Posada were resigned immediately either and everyone knew they weren’t going anywhere.

We’ll find out soon enough, but I just don’t buy that theory. He’ll be back in 2009 and Moose will probably retire.

Ruse -

I would think that as of right now the RF would be Nady (with Damon in LF and Gardner in CF). As for who bats third - again this is only right now - but if no other position players are added I would guess it would be Matsui or Cano. The other possibility is Jeter with Gardner and Damon in the 1-2 spots.

Again, that's all assuming that Nick Swisher is the only position player that the Yankees intend to add this winter and I think that's highly unlikely. I don't think the additional player will be Tex (or Manny or even Adam Dunn) but someone else will be added - either a second or third level FA (Rocco Baldelli?) or via trade (Phil Hughes for Jay Bruce? Ian Kennedy for Lastings Milledge? Melky Cabrera for Randy Winn?)

Actually - if you don't mind a quick change of track - I think Randy Winn would be a pretty good option for the Yankees. He's still able to cover the ground in CF, he plays everyday, a switch hitter, gets on base (.363 OBP last season) doesn't have much power (10 hr) but can run (25 sb) and has a great eye at the plate (59 walks vs. 88 strikeouts). I think his contract is up at the end of next season so it wouldn't be a long term marraige to the 34-year old. He knows how to play small ball - put him between Jeter and Alex and I think you might have something there. Or, move him to the 2 spot between Damon and Jeter - either way, if the price is right (as in the Yankees don't have to give up one of their better prospects for him) I don't see a downside...

Viper

I don't remember when Rivera re-signed last year but I know Posada agreed to his contract before he hit the open market.

Your timeline on Pettitte is off btw. Last year he signed on 12/12 (see this link http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2007/12/12/yankees-petitte.html) and the Mitchell Report was made public on 12/14 - That MUST have annoyed/embarassed the Yankee brass.

Viper -

One more thing - and I was wrong about this too - Andy did decline his option last year while he decided whether to pitch or not. The deadline to pick up the option was mid November and he wasn't sure he wanted to pitch and so he declined it. The Yankees immediately offered him a 1 year 16 mil deal which sat on the table until Andy signed it (again, two days before Mitchell released his findings). The implication is clear. Andy didn't just wake up on the 12th and decide "yup, I really want to play baseball next year let me get this contract done." Andy signed it before he could be outed because he was afraid the team would pull the offer. He lied to the Yankees so that he could get his $16 mil.

Chip -

The hold up with the Yankees and Pettite is health not the steroids. They are worried about his health and for a one year deal of 13 mil is on the bubble right now as they sought out their stronger options, once CC signs then everything falls into place the issue I have with this CC deal is that Girardi haven't made the sales call

It has been reported (on another site) that The padres told the Yankees that Peavy could be had without involving Phil Hughes.

On Burnett ...

Place him on Bostons rotation and we respond with Pettite Moose and Hughes.

game over