Winter Wonderland

Well we've got about 8 straight days of snow in the forecast here in Syracuse, so I'm a little jealous of everyone in Orlando for the Winter Meetings, which start today.

• GM Brian Cashman is done playing Santa's elf, and now wants to bring Yankee fans a Christmas present in Cliff Lee.
• Lee's agent was surrounded by reporters today, but said there isn't anything to report or speculate on yet.
• Pat Gillick was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee, but late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not receive the requisite number of votes.
• Another ridiculous contract out of the Washington, DC sports market (after the McNabb-Redskins deal) as Jayson Werth signed a 7 year, $126 million contract with the Nationals. I can't find a quote from Werth, but if it says anything other than "I signed here because the Nationals were the only ones stupid enough to give me this much money" he is flat out lying.
• And as Jayson Stark writes, the only person who likes the Werth deal more than Werth is Carl Crawford, who is going to be swimming in money after this offseason.

There will probably be a lot more news this week than there has been this offseason, which of course MLB coincides with finals week, but we'll do our best.

SEE YA!

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Going Shopping...

Well Black Friday always marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and it usually marks the beginning of the Baseball Offseason as well. Let's get caught up on what's going on.

Derek Jeter
Well, these negotiations have pretty much turned "messy" as Hal Steinbrenner forewarned. Word around town today is that he wants $150 million (cue Dr. Evil pose). That's much much more money than Jeter (or anyone else for that matter) is worth at this point. The Yankees have drawn the line in the sand with $45 million for 3 years. I don't understand why they don't sign a reasonable player contract and then do one of those personal services contracts for when he retires. I think, no matter what, Jeter's probably going to be laughing all the way to the bank.












Mariano Rivera
There had been talk about Rivera pulling an Andy Pettitte and going year to year, but now he apparently wants a 2-year deal. I don't see why the Yankees don't sign him to that contract right now. The second year is probably tied to the chance to pass Trevor Hoffman on the All-Time Saves list. This deal will probably get down soon, and with hopefully less drama than Jeter's deal.





Cliff Lee
And now we move on to the biggest non-Yankee target the coveted left hander Lee. There are conflicting reports on whether an official offer has actually been made, but Cash Money (Brian Cashman, not the rap label) went down to Arkansas to visit with him and his family. It's probably more a matter of years at this point, because Lee's going to want about 7, but he's 32 so he's probably going to have to settle for less.







So that's it for now. But as more news develops, we'll keep you updated.

SEE YA!

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CashMoney: "LeBron will be a Knick"

Ever since NBA free agency started July 1st, everyone connected to either the NBA, sports in general, New York, or Cleveland. Last night Yanks GM Brian Cashman was asked his opinion.

LeBron James is going to be a Knick. I'm convinced of it. New York is the place that will allow LeBron to be the player and person he wants to be, and it's all coming together. Just listen, LeBron James will be a Knick.

Now when John first told me about this he added that "someone should explain what a salary cap is to Cashman." Cashman probably knows more about microbiology (which I'm assuming isn't a lot) than he does NBA free agency, so I don't really think that Cashman's the guy to ask.

John's a big Knicks fan, so he's been drinking the Kool Aid waiting for LeBron to make his decision. I watched exactly 5 minutes of NBA basketball this season (the end of Game 7 of the Finals) so I could really care less where LeBron ends up (which I'm still convinced is back to Cleveland). I was a Nets fan back in the days of Jason Kidd/Kenyon Martin/Richard Jefferson so if he goes to the Nets, I'll probably jump on that bandwagon.

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Will Yankees Go After Lee?

Today in the NY Post, Joel Sherman writes about the possibility of the Yankees making a move for Cliff Lee by the July 31 trade deadline. Sherman writes that it will be difficult because the Mariners will ask for Austin Romine or Jesus Montero. But Sherman throws in his own idea, which is trading Javier Vazquez to an NL team to get the prospects needed to make a trade work. Now, this is reminding me a little bit like the Roy Halladay situation last year because the Yankees don't need Lee...at least not this year. People will talk about the Yankees being involved but in the end, it won't happen. And here's why:

• Brian Cashman won't trade Vazquez to make room for Lee. Vazquez is someone who Cashman put a lot of trust and confidence in, and it was a risky move bringing him back. Why would he jump ship with him in just half a season? Plus he is pitching like the Vazquez Cashman expected he was getting, so I doubt he makes any moves for him.


• The Yankees have a 3.84 team ERA, which is third best in the American League. Once again, they don't need Lee right now.


• Cashman won't part with his top prospects. We've seen it before with Santana, and as recently as last year with Halladay. Cashman won't part with his top prospects. The Mariners asked for Austin Jackson last year for Jarrod Washburn and Cashman wouldn't do it, so you have to imagine the asking price for Lee will be high as well.


• Lee is a free agent after this season. The Yankees have shown they are patient and have the money to sign the pieces they need. Vazquez may be gone next year and Pettitte may retire (although he looks like he can pitch for five more years) which will mean the Yankees will look for another starter (preferably a lefty to replace Pettitte) during the offseason.

Basically, it's pointless for the Yankees to trade for Cliff Lee right now. Their pitchers are doing fine (although I'd like to see Burnett pitch a little better and CC beat someone other than the Orioles) and they are 2 games behind the Rays for first place. This wasn't the first time the Post wrote about the Yankees and Cliff Lee, and if they can't find anything else better to write, it won't be the last. Just don't expect anything to happen during the season unless a significant injury occurs.

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News and Notes

We are now days - not weeks - away from Opening Day and the excitement is building towards the season. Joe Girardi only has a few decisions to make regarding the bullpen and the bench, but the roster is almost finalized.

• As John talked about earlier, Joba seems like he is going to be the headline for a little while, at least until the beat writers actually have games to write about. Over the weekend, Director of Professional Scouting Billy Eppler stirred the pot a little more saying that the Yankees were leaving Joba in the bullpen for good. Brian Cashman later said that wasn't an official team decision and just Eppler's opinion. Now Cashman may have used "opinion" instead of "Eppler's running his mouth without listening to the people in charge," but he is the Pro Scouting Director, so he's pretty high up there. Cashman's statements lead us to believe that Joba will be reevaluated as a starter at the end of the season. So two important Yankee officials talk about 2 of the 3 options I presented last week, but still leave out what I believe to be the best option.
  

• According to our friend over at LeNYy's Yankees, the fans agree that Phil Hughes should be the fifth starter.

• After being released by the Yankees last week, Chad Gaudin wasted no time in finding a new home with the Oakland A's.

• Buster Olney talks about the possible options if Major League Baseball were to realign the divisions.
  

• President Barack Obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park on Opening Day when the Phillies play in Washington. They should leave him out for the real first pitch too, since left-handed Commander-in-Chief (get the parallel?) will probably be better than anyone the Nationals can run out there.
  

• Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com takes a look at the Yankees Prospects to Watch going into the 2010 season, while Keith Law of ESPN talks about the breakout players around the league in 2010.

• And Mike Axisa at River Ave Blues has a preview of the season and the Yankees getting help from within the organization.
  

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Jobamania

You know the baseball season is among us when the Joba Chamberlain starter or reliever question is the hot topic of the past couple of days. As you all know, Phil Hughes was named the fifth starter last week, and questions arose about the status of Joba Chamberlain. Should they put him in the bullpen as a setup man? Or do they send him down to AAA to log in innings and work on becoming a starter for next year?

Joe Girardi said Thursday that Joba was going to pitch out of the bullpen. Debate over, right? Well, not quite. Brian Cashman has publicly said that his long-term role is undetermined. In the article Cashman said, "He's going to be a starter pitching out of the pen." Ok, that doesn't make much sense. Girardi has already said if a starter is injured Sergio Mitre or Alfredo Aceves would be the backups. So are the Yankees really developing a starter by putting him in the bullpen to pitch 80 innings this year, and 180 the next?

Honestly, I feel bad for Joba. He's got a lot of talent and a lot of potential, but it seems to me the Yankees don't know what to do with him. If they keep moving him back and forth from starter to reliever he's never going to fully develop into the pitcher he can be. The Yankees need to sit down and determine what their future plans are for Joba, because if they don't know, they might as well trade to a team that's going to have a plan for him.

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Someone PLEASE throw some gasoline on the Hot Stove

Well, there's been a whole lot of nothing going on in the baseball world the past week, and with football only playing once a week, it gets a bit boring in the sports world.

There was an interesting story on the Yankees MLB.com Website about Javier Vazquez. In the article, he says he has no desire to pitch until he's 40 and he goes "year by year."

Now, with Brian Cashman becoming increasingly concerned about payroll flexibility, this may be a good thing for the Yankees. Vazquez has said that he had no desire to leave New York after the forgettable 2004 season, so he may be willing to accept a series of short-term contracts with the Yankees over the next several years. This would leave the Yankees the flexibility they want, while still having a dependable number 3 starter for a few years.

The Jets-Colts game is about to start. Sam Borden at the LoHud Yankees Blog talked about the crossover between Jets and Yankees fans. I have always seen it being more of a Yankees/Giants (like John and I) and a Mets/Jets correlation, but there are obviously some exceptions. And while some Giants and Jets fans feel the need to hate each other despite the fact that they only play once every every 4 or 5 years, I will in fact be rooting for the Jets this afternoon, but I don't know how well a rookie quarterback can handle Indy on the road. We'll find out soon enough, enjoy the game.

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Yankees Inquire On Carlos Zambrano

As most of you would assume, the Yankees are still looking for another starting pitcher. Interesting report I saw on mlbtraderumors about the Yankees asking the Cubs the price for Carlos Zambrano. However, according to the NY Post report, the Yankees did not like the asking price. I would imagine the asking price was probably something like Melky/Gardner, Montero, and a pitching prospect. Zambrano has a no-trade claus and is paid a lot of money, and the Cubs are always looking to contend, so I doubt Zambrano is going anywhere.

I think the fact that the Yankees looked into the asking price of someone such as Zambrano is very interesting. The pitchers on the free-agent market are Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Joel Piniero, and Jason Marquis. So there are plenty of starters who can fill the role of a back end of the rotation guy. But why would the Yankees be looking to make a trade? There has been much speculation about trading Gardner and Cabrera and maybe the Yankees are seeing if they can get a big-time pitcher in return. Honestly, I'd like to see them keep Gardner, because he provides speed off the bench and is useful late in games. He was a tool that the Yankees didn't have in the few years before 2009.

All this is speculation, and many expect the Yankees to acquire a pitcher soon. I still think they ,will sign someone off the free-agent market, but it is interesting that they are checking the price on pitchers like Zambrano. Maybe Cashman surprises us with a big trade. But right now, I'm thinking they will sign a free agent.

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Winter Meetings Report Card

The Winter Meetings officially ended Thursday, so we're a little late, but we'll give you our analysis and grade of how the Yankees faired in this year's Winter Meetings.

First, the Curtis Granderson trade. This was the deal of the Meetings and probably the Yankees offseason. They had to trade away some good prospects (Austin Jackson)but they were still able to acquire a young, excellent player in Granderson. Granderson fills their need in acquiring an outfielder and will play centerfield as Melky will most likely move to left. Granderson can either fill the two-hole in the lineup, or if Damon returns, he can protect A-Rod in the five spot. Overall, great deal for the Yankees.

Second, the Andy Pettitte signing. This was important because Pettitte was such an important part of their World Series run last year and he showed he still has something left. By re-signing Pettitte it takes pressure off the Yanks to go out and look for another veteran arm.

Third, trading Brian Bruney to the Nationals. Bruney was injury-proned and never really lived up to expectations. His role can be filled within the organization and the trade led to the Yankees getting the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft which led to:

Finally, drafting Jamie Hoffman. Hoffman is a right-handed outfielder who made perfefct sense for the Yankees to choose. He can make the team in spring training and contribute immediately by giving them depth and a right-handed bat off the bench.

There were also reports Cashman began negotiating withScott Boras about Johnny Damon, but it doesn't look like much progress has been made.

Despite not much progress with Damon and giving up some good prospects, Cashman definitely exceeded my expectations during this week as it was a very successful week. He addressed the top priorities and did everything the Yankees needed him to do in a short amount of time. The Yankees left the Winter Meetings as one of the biggest winners.

Overall Grade: A+...there really wasn't anything more they could have done.

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Granderson deal official, Pettitte re-signs

The 3-team deal to bring center fielder Curtis Granderson to the Bronx is official. A couple of quotes from the press conference with Brian Cashman and the conference call with Curtis Granderson:

Cashman
On Granderson:

We're excited about what he brings to the table -- his athleticism, his youth, his power and how it all relates to where we play. His personality, how people gravitate to him -- they're all plusses.

On Austin Jackson and the other players the Yankees gave up in the deal

We're excited about what we're getting, and we're distraught about what we gave up at the same time. It's not like I'm doing handstands. It's a tough decision. You're trading the future for here and now.

Granderson
On his role on the team

I'm not going to be the standout guy. I'm not going to be the guy that you're constantly worried about. But if you don't keep an eye on me, hopefully, I can go and sneak in and do some positive things for our team.

On playing at Yankee Stadium

I've never been a guy who's gone up there trying to hit home runs.I think it's one of those things that has evolved over my career, and hopefully, the same will hold true at Yankee Stadium -- going up and trying to drive the baseball, and if it gets out, it gets out.

On whether he will wear #28 (or whether manager Joe Girardi will)

It'll be interesting. Of course, [Girardi's] the man. He's the one that makes everything go. He's going to definitely have first dibs on it, and if he chooses to take it, I've played in other numbers before. It's just a number on the back. Whatever you do on the field hopefully will stand out more.

In other news today, Andy Pettitte will return to the Yankees in 2010, as he signed a 1 year, $11.75 million deal that was announced today. After going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA and winning all the clinching games in the postseason, the Yanks rewarded one of their "Core Four" with a raise over his $5 million base salary last season.

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The Quest for 28 begins

So the champagne bottles are empty and all the confetti is being cleaned up. It’s time to start thinking of one of the most exciting part of the baseball season: the Hot Stove season.

The Yankees are sure to be involved as they always are and we’ll be here covering all of the moves en route to World Series Championship #28.

First, some important dates:

November 9-11: The GM Meetings will take place in Chicago.

November 22- Until this date, clubs have exclusive negotiating rights with their current players with expiring contracts. Free agency begins. You can go here for a quick rundown on the rules of free agency.

December 1- Last day for clubs to offer arbitration to players in order to receive draft pick compensation.

December 7-10- Winter Meetings in Indianapolis.

December 10- Rule 5 draft for players not protected by teams by being placed on 40-man roster.

December 12- Deadline for teams to tender players a contract

January 5-20- Teams and players exchange salary arbitration numbers.

February- Salary arbitration hearings take place.

February 12- Yankees Pitchers and Catchers report for Spring Training

Now here are the Yankees free agents:

Type A

Johnny Damon

Type B

Jerry Harriston, Jr.

Hideki Matsui

Xavier Nady

Andy Pettitte

Non-type

Jose Molina

Eric Hinske

Non-tender candidates

Chien-Mien Wang

Chad Gaudin

In all, that’s $40 million coming off the books to use in the free agent market. Or, you know, buy the Florida Marlins.

In the next couple of days, we’ll give an off-season preview with what with think the GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees will/should do in regards to free agency and trades and identify strengths and weaknesses.

SEE YA!

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Battle in the Bronx

YANKEES (97-56)

Joba Chamberlain on May 17, 2008" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" height="248" width="300">Image via Wikipedia

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.73).

RED SOX (91-61)

Image via Wikipedia

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Ortiz DH
Bay LF
Drew RF
Varitek C
Gonzalez SS

Pitching: LHP Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33).

TIME/TV: 7:05, My9, MLB Network.

High Five!: The magic number for the Yankees is 5, which means the Yankees can clinch the division with a sweep of the Red Sox this weekend.

They're due: The Yankees have never beaten Lester in his career as he is 3-0 with a 1.9o ERA. I'd like the Yankees to put an 8 spot on him today so I don't have to listen to people tell me he is one of the best lefty pitchers in the game, as in better than CC or Johan.

Chance to tie it up: Right now, the Red Sox lead the season series 9-6, so a sweep also means the two teams will tie the series. While it may be insignificant, just think back to the Yanks starting 0-8 against the Sawks and see how far they've come.

Joba's time to shine: Joba, whether he thinks so or not, has struggled the past couple of starts. He could really prove a lot of things to a lot of people, most importantly Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman, with a big start tonight.

Win it for Nathan!: If you haven't seen this story yet, click here to get caught up. I want this teacher to have to wear a paper bag over his head when he goes to school next week.

Blog Updates: I will be (forced to be) at a Shen Wei Dance Performance as part of the program for Syracuse freshman. I will of course be sneaking looks at the score, but may miss a large portion of the game. I am unaware of John's schedule, but we'll try to get something up for this one.

Enjoy the Game

UPDATE 7:15: John here, I'm forced to watch the game on NESN, and I want to say, they are actually making a good point about Joba. That if they were to limit his innings like this it should have been done earlier in the season rather than heading into the playoffs. Because now he is taking steps backwards, which I agree wholeheartedly with.

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White Or Red We Still Can't Beat Sox

Looks like the Yankees got a fever when playing against Sox, and the only prescription is...Jerry Hairston Jr?

I can't do a recap after this debauchery, so I'll just say this: We needed a pitcher today but instead ended up with Jerry Freaking Hairston Jr. Cashman better get a pitcher, starter or reliever, when players go on waivers Monday, or else this team is in trouble. But hey, nice play by Johnny Damon to stall the game from getting out of hand today. And besides that, there is nothing positive to take away from this game. Just awful.

Burnett's on the mound tomorrow. He's pretty good at winning games.

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Wang to go under knife

After tonight's game, the Yankees announced that Chien-Mien Wang will need season-ending shoulder surgery. It will be tomorrow morning, and presumably performed by Dr. James Andrews, because he seems to be the only guy who does surgeries in Major League Baseball.

A few things to note about this:

• The surgery is on his shoulder, so maybe Wang can use the time off to get the strength back in his legs, since that was the main problem at the beginning of a forgettable year.
  
• You've got to be interested in what happens with Wang's future now. After the season, the Yankees could non-tender him, basically refusing him a contract, and he would become a free agent. He could sign with any team in the League, including the Yankees.
  
• Now that he knows Wang isn't coming back this season, look for Brian Cashman to go hard for a starting pitcher. Jarrod Washburn is a name that has come up, and the Yankees almost pried him away from the Mariner's before, so maybe this will be what makes it happen.
  

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Halladay Bronx Bound? Don't Count On It

There has been lots of talk about pitcher Roy Halladay lately since Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi said he would listen to offers for the 32-year old pitcher. Much of that talk has been taking place in, you guessed it, New York. Fans have been calling in on talk-show radios and blogging about the possibility of the Yankees getting Halladay. Well the reason I am writing this post is to tell you that it is NOT likely to happen.

First, the Blue Jays are in the AL East, the same division as the Yankees. The Blue Jays want to be able to compete for the division down the road. By sending Halladay to the Yankees, you are giving them a rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Halladay. That is unbeatable. There is no way they'd send him to their own division, thankfully, that probably means the Red Sox won't have a shot either.

Secondly, the Yankees would not part with their top prospects for the younger, left-handed, Johan Santana two years ago, what makes you think they'd change their minds now? A deal for Halladay would have to blow away GM Riccardi, meaning Hughes, Joba, Cano, Jackson, and Montero would be the names they'd want to hear to consider a deal. Possibly 4 of the 5 would have to be in the actual deal.

Finally, Ricciardi has reiterated that they are only listening to offers. They want to see what the price is for a pitcher of Halladay's caliber. If Ricciardi doesn't see anything he likes, Halladay will remain on the team. If such a case does happen, expect Halladay to be dealt in the offseason with only a year left on his contract. Brian Cashman will monitor the situation at hand, but it is unlikely he will come up with a better offer than someone like the Phillies or White Sox.

Despite the aforementioned reasons why the Yankees won't end up with him, I have come across one theory that I actually like. Steve from WasWatching introduces the idea that the Blue Jays could take the same route the Marlins did with Beckett, who would only deal Beckett if the other team took Lowell. He wonders, would the Blue Jays only deal Halladay if the other team took Vernon Wells? Wells has a big contract, and the only teams who would have the money on their payroll to do that would be the Yankees and Red Sox. If such a case would happen, it would be a two-horse race between these two teams.

However, SI's Jon Heyman is being told the Blue Jays would be hesitant to deal within the division.

Yankees fans should look at it this way: The Phillies are the favorites to get him and that is most likely where he will end up. As Pete Abe put it, "It’s addition by subtraction from the American League for the Yankees." Arguably the best pitcher in the league, would no longer be in their division, making the games in their division an easier task to handle.

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Michael Kay Quotes and Other Baseball Stuff

Today is a Yankee off day so there is not much to write about. First of all, please vote on our fan poll to the right on who you think would win a fist fight. Brian Bruney or K-Rod? Bruney is 6'3" 235 lbs. K-Rod is 6'0" and 195 lbs. Yesterday Jim and I were at the game and could not provide a Michael Kay Quote of the Game. However, I caught a couple innings on the YES Encore and heard one I thought was great. It went along the lines of this:

(talking about Mickey Mantle being in the booth during Al Leiter's MLB debut)
KAY: Wow. Mickey Mantle in the booth during your major league debut, that's a pretty neat story.
LEITER: Yeah it is.
KAY: It's tough for players today to have something like that.
LEITER: Well, now they get Michael Kay and David Cone in the booth.
KAY: That's not saying much, especially the Michael Kay part.

Also, Michael Kay reiterated on the Joe Girardi Show that he would NOT be starting a blog. He also said he does not like to be publicly embarassed.

On to some baseball notes:

• Brian Cashman discusses the trade market as well as Brian Bruney and Chien-Ming Wang to Newsday's Arthur Staple.
• Huston Street has been one of the Yankees targets for relief help. The Colorado Rockies won their 11th straight game yesterday. Yankee fans will have to hope for a losing streak if they want to land Street.
• Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the 8th inning yesterday as he shut out the Cardinals 3-0.
• Yesterday's start by Johan Santana was the worst of his career, giving up 9 ER in 3+ innings.
• The Pirates and Red Sox are discussing a trade that would send SS Jack Wilson to Boston.
• In the United States, neither many players liked Bobby Valentine, nor management (Specifically, former Mets GM, Steve Phillips), but the fans in Japan are petitioning for his contract with the Chiba Lotte Marines to be renewed. Valentine's contract expires after the 2009 season and he has been told it will not be renewed.

That may be it for today. Our blog has been up for 2 full weeks now and we have had 430 visits and 770 pageviews. If you have any suggestions or questions just email us at michaelkayssuccessors@yahoo.com and if you are on twitter, follow us: http://twitter.com/KaysSuccessors.

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