Yankees Acquire Swisher, Reach Out To Sabathia

So we all know by now the yankees got Nick Swisher from the Chi Sox. And they traded Jeff Marquez, Wilson Betemit, And Jhonny Nunez. I honestly have no clue how we are going to fill Wilson Betemit’s spot. Inconsistent defense and a .265 BA is just hard to find these days. Oh, and they also acquired Texeira. No I’m not kidding.

The yanks have apparently reached out to Sabathia. I can imagine 6 years at 140 Million the most likely possibility. By the end of next week, we will probably be CC’ing him at Burger King in Midtown.

Meanwhile, Here is what I envision the 2009 opening day lineup to look like.

C: Chad Moeller
1B: Juan Miranda (Mr. AFL!)
2B: Robinson Cano (Mr. Careless!)
3B: Cody Ransom (4 HR in 40 AB, so if he gets 600 AB, thats 60 HR, Better than Arod)
SS: Undecided
LF: Xavier Nady
CF: Brett Gardner
RF: Assorted Bums (IE Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui).

SP1: Phil Hughes (Mr. Consistent!)
SP2: Ian Kennedy (Mr. Scranton/Wilkes Barre!)
SP3: Andrew Brackman (He’s got alot of games under his belt!)
SP4: Alan Horne
SP5: Undecided

RP: Brian Bruney
RP: Dave Robertson
RP: Jose Veras
CP: Edwar Ramirez

Thanks for your time.

Holliday To Oakland, Moose To Retire, Pettitte Files For Free Agency

Although this is a Yankees Blog, There is still a huge deal that went down today.
Heres a screen shot from ESPN.com

Holliday Season

Matt Holliday
Peter G. Aiken/US Presswire
Matt Holliday could be taking his .319 career average to Oakland. The Athletics and Rockies have agreed to terms on a deal that would send slugger Matt Holliday to Oakland.

Yup, its all true. The A’s have acquired Matt Holliday in exchange for Closer Huston Street, and prospects Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. This deal doesn’t make any sense with the so-call MoneyBall Theory, Unless the A’s decide to shoot off Holliday to some other team to acquire prospects before the start of the season. Who Knows? But one thing for sure, it is unusual…

At the Joe Torre, Safe-At-Home Dinner, it was reported that Joe Girardi had spoke to Moose before the end of the season and Moose told Joe he plans on retiring. I’m not surprised. Better to go out in a 20 Win season than one where you can barely find a spot in a starting rotation.

Andy Pettitte filed for free agency although he claims he still wants to return to NY.

Very boring offseason so far. So I’ll share this with you for a good laugh. Click here.

Mike ‘F-ing’ Cameron, Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday

Ok, first things first. Or heart-attacks first.

The Yankees have had discussions with the brewers about Mike Cameron.

[Insert Expletive Here]

No, I’m not kidding. And it only gets better. George King of the NY Post confirms that the yankees have talked about Melky Cabrera and a pitching prospect (Most likely Ian Kennedy), for Cameron. Hey Cash, Just a quick question:

Why the !@#$ would you make this deal? Lets discuss..

Melky Cabrera and Ian Kennedy are both under the age of 24 and believe it or not, still have some upside. There just too young to make decisions on. Melky led the league in assists and Kennedy has shown great pitching at AAA and maybe with some coaching could help turn that into great pitching at the major league level. Now lets talk about Cameron.

1. Cameron is 35 years old (36 in January).
2. Cameron hit .243 with 25 HR last year. Not much of an upgrade over Melky.
3. Cameron strikes out about 150 times a year, about once in every 3 AB, or average of once a game.
4. Has already served a suspension for violating baseballs doping policy.

Are you still so interested in this guy? Yeah, thats what I thought.

Theres been tons of stuff circulating today about the yanks and Jake Peavy. Micheal Kay has claimed the yanks are talking about a Austin Jackson, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy deal for Peavy. (I’m lukewarm on this, but not completely sold). And Kevin Towers has claimed that there is no way Peavy will be going to the yanks as he will only be traded to an NL team.

If i had to bet on this, I would still say he’s going to the Braves. However anything can happen in the trade market. Did anyone ever think the yanks would get Pay-Rod in the 04 offseason?

Matt Holliday rumors had intensified this morning but have since cooled off. The yanks were

supposed to be getting a pitching prospect in return from Matsui to Seattle and shoot him with Robinson Cano and another prospect to Seattle for Matt Holliday.

—–GM Meetings: Day 4—–

-Khalil Greene’s name won’t stop surfacing.
-Mets are talking with Brian Fuentes.
-Dodgers attempting to resign Rafael Furcal.
-Theo Epstein is looking at other catchers available.
-Cubs are pursuing Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster.
-Man-Ram has been offered a deal by the Dodgers.

C.C. Sabathia and the starting rotation, Man-Ram, More Matt Holliday

The Yankees are reportedly going to make their offer to C.C. Sabathia very soon, but remember there is about 1 more week left until teams can make official offers to free agents. I would expect an offer in the ballpark of, say, 5 years at $130 million, with possible club options for a 6th and 7th year. The reason why I’m not big on signing him at over 5 years is one issue; his weight. C.C. is a big guy and he’s only 28 years old. As he gets older he could be putting on more and more weight and thats the last thing we want.

Joel Sherman of the Post claims that the only way the yanks would sign Manny Ramirez is if they try but don’t sign Mark Teixeira and if Hideki Matsui is traded. Although I was excited about the thought of Manny Ramirez being a yankee, those thoughts were quickly dismissed. The last thing we need is another long term contract, or another outfielder for that matter. Sorry Man-Ram hopefuls…

Peter Abraham of the LoHud Yankees Blog believes that either Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy will be dealt before spring training. The latter is far more likely. Which leads us into our next topic—

Joel Sherman notes how the Rockies front office has kept an eye on Ian Kennedy. Interesting, cause right now I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the only team that is even considering him. Trade him now guys.

One final interesting note before going around the league. Scott Boras wants Jason Varitek to get an identical contract to the one Jorge Posada got last year.

Hahahahaha

—–GM Meetings: Day 3—–

-Braves, Mariners, and Bosux are in on Junichi Tazawa.
-Dodgers have declined Brad Penny’s option.
-Tigers are interested in J.J. Putz
-Mets are interested in Ryan Dempster and Jon Garland
-Braves are talking about dealing Jeff Francouer
-Lyle Overbay to Seattle? Rumor
-Indians are looking at every option out there for a closer.

Oh, and almost forgot, Congrats Barack Obama on winning the election. Its been eight years painful years of Bush so lets hope for the best.

Sorry about the short entry today, I got midterms right now and I’m a little stressed. I’ll make up for it with better entries this weekend.

Carl Pavano, Hideki Matsui, Jake Peavy, GM Meetings

Wow…

Tons of great stuff came out of the GM Meetings today, Including some, rather, disturbing news for yankee fans.

Lets start with fan favorite Carl Pavano. The guy we wasted $40 million
on, The guy who made 26 starts for us over four years, The guy who has
had virtually every injury known to man.

Well courtesy of Mark Feinsand of The Daily News, The yanks may just resign him. Yeah, I Know, Seriously…

Brian Cashman claims to still like the guy, well Mr. Cashman, I have a question for you,

WHAT IS WITH YOUR OBSESSION OVER INJURED PITCHERS?!

A.J. Burnett, Sergio Mitre, now Carl Pavano??

But I’ll leave this topic on one final note over Carl Pavano… Everryyboddyyy Hurttssss, Sometimes…..

Moving On: Hideki Matsui’s name has reportedly surfaced in trade talks.
According to the Denver Post,  The yanks could possibly shoot Matsui to
Seattle for a good to decent prospect. This is just a rumor so don’t
set your hopes to high. It’s then claimed that the prospect obtained in
the Matsui trade could be used as part of a package for the yanks to
pry Matt Holliday from Colorado. This package would mainly be about
Phil Hughes. You know how I feel about a Matt Holliday trade, if you
don’t then check out my previous entry. Heres a trade that I could see
possibly happening.

Yankees Get: Matt Holliday.         Colorado Gets: Phil Hughes, Mark
Melancon, Prospect in Seattles trade, Additional mid level prospect.

Again, this deal is contingent on the other so it could take alot for a
deal like this to work out. However the Rockies get what they want in a
MLB ready starter and a reliever to replace Brian Fuentes in the pen.

Jon Heyman claims that Jake Peavy has added the yanks to his “Willing-To-Accept-A-Trade-To” list.

While we’re on the subject of Jake Peavy, I might as well explain how I
feel about a Jake Peavy deal. I Hate It! Is Jake Peavy a good pitcher?
Yes. Has he won a Cy Young? Yes. Could he succeed outside of PETCO Park
and the NL? NO!  For those who don’t know, PETCO Park is one of the
biggest pitcher’s parks in the game (2nd to Comerica Park). Take him
out of there and his numbers won’t be nearly as good. Also he’s in the
NL. He’ll go from facing pitchers who can barely drop down a bunt to
David Ortiz. Here are his stats.

EASON TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
2002     San Diego Padres 6 7 4.52 17 17 0 0 0 0 97.2 106 54 49 11 3 33 90
2003     San Diego Padres 12 11 4.11 32 32 0 0 0 0 194.2 173 94 89 33 6 82 156
2004     San Diego Padres 15 6 2.27 27 27 0 0 0 0 166.1 146 49 42 13 11 53 173
2005     San Diego Padres 13 7 2.88 30 30 3 3 0 0 203.0 162 70 65 18 7 50 216
2006     San Diego Padres 11 14 4.09 32 32 2 0 0 0 202.1 187 93 92 23 6 62 215
2007     San Diego Padres 19 6 2.54 34 34 0 0 0 0 223.1 169 67 63 13 6 68 240
2008     San Diego Padres 10 11 2.85 27 27 1 0 0 0 173.2 146 57 55 17 5 59 166

I know, I know. These are amazing numbers. Especially 2004 and 2007. But take him out of the NL, and that massive ballpark in San Diego, I wouldn’t be surprised if his ERA jumped an earned run.

—–GM Meetings: Day 2—–

No time to go into analyzing so im just gonna shoot out some rumors and other stuff real quick.

-Yanks ‘could’ really make a push for Big Tex.
-Mets might be interested in Javier Vazquez.
-Tigers are looking at Rafael Furcal.
-Yanks have declined options on Carl Pavano and Jason Giambi.
-A.J. Burnett has officially opted out… No surprise here.
-Theres a Kelly Johnson for Ryan Ludwick rumor floating around.
-Braves have offered Junichi Tazawa a contract.
-Nats are interesting in Big Tex and Matt Holliday.
-Theres a Khalil Greene for Coco Crispies rumor hanging around.

Yankees Sign Sergio Mitre

According
to MLB.COM, The yanks signed Sergio Mitre to a minor league deal today worth
about 1.25 million. There is also a club option available for 2010. Not a bad
move to try and bolster the bullpen but I wouldn’t get high hopes that this is
the guy thats gonna help us get the bridge to Mariano. This kid is still young
(28 in February), but last season had Tommy John Surgery in July. So at bare
minimum, we might see him making some rehab starts after the All Star Break.
Here are his career stats.

SEASON TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO
2003     Chicago Cubs 0 1 8.31 3 2 0 0 0 0 8.2 15 8 8 1 0 4 3
2004     Chicago Cubs 2 4 6.62 12 9 0 0 0 0 51.2 71 38 38 6 4 20 37
2005     Chicago Cubs 2 5 5.37 21 7 1 1 0 0 60.1 62 37 36 11 3 23 37
2006     Florida Marlins 1 5 5.71 15 7 0 0 0 1 41.0 44 28 26 7 6 20 31
2007     Florida Marlins 5 8 4.65 27 27 0 0 0 0 149.0 180 88 77 9 10 41 80
Career Totals 10 23 5.36 78 52 1 1 0 1 310.2 372 199 185 34 23 108 188

Obviously these are nothing impressive. If I were NY, I would give the kid some time to try and redevelop himself. Remember Brian Bruney? Its the same scenario.

—In other news, MLBTR released a list of where they believe the Top 50 free agents will sign. They listed C.C. Sabathia at No. 1 and had him signing with us. Also listed as signing with us include Derek Lowe at No. 6, and Andy Pettitte resigning at No. 16. Other signings of interest include Damaso Marte signing with St. Louis at No. 43. Hmmmmmmmm….. Jason Giambi at No. 20 returning to Oakland, Bobby Abreu at No. 14 signing with the Chicago Flubs, Pudge at No, 31 with the Division Winning Mets, And they predict Mike Mussina at No. 11 will retire.

—For a complete list click here

—The GM Meetings started today and are scheduled to run through the week. Other than the Mitre signing, almost nothing has come out of the meetings from any team.

—The Rockies have announced that Matt Holliday and Garret Atkins are on the block, yeah, tell me somthing new… The yanks should look into trading for Matt Holliday. However only if they can sign him to a guaranteed extension. I’m not in the mood to trade three or four plus prospects for a guy we are only going to have for a year.

Its that time again, Time to fire up the Hot Stove.

Damaso Marte Option Declined?

Not a whole lot happened today.

The only thing that is significant is that there are reports the Yankees won’t pick up Damaso Marte’s option. Hmmmm no surprise here, although it does raise some questions. The Yankees have three options: Either sign him short term, sign him long term, or offer him arbitration. The latter seems likely. For those who don’t know, Marte is a Type A free agent. So if the yanks offer him arbitration and he declines, we get two draft picks. (But then again, we don’t sign our draft picks, so it doesn’t really matter).

Whatever, I’m still questioning why we didn’t pick up the option though. If they choose not to offer him arbitration, Marte could be in for a multi-million dollar pay-day. He could cash in in the range of, I don’t know, Three years at 20 Million? Who knows, but with the very few lefty relievers on the market (Eddie Guardado anyone??) The yanks probably will at least try to retain him, despite Phil Coke pitching well in September.

Personally, I don’t think the yanks should give him anything more than 1 year at 7 million if he doesn’t accept arbitration. I’ve never been a fan of him (or that trade), especially that walk-off grand slam he gave up to Marlon Byrd in Texas after walking the bases loaded.

Prediction: Accepts arbitration

first entry

So yeah, this is yankees today, hope to get
a few readers….. basically summarizing what happened in
yankee land today. Some days i might not get here so dont get
mad, im gonna try my best. Ok, peace

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