I don't think they'll let Villone walk, but the delay in re-signing him leads me to think that Cashman still is trying to move Melky Cabrera for either Pittsburgh's Gonzalez, or another top-tier lefty reliever. Villone lives in New Jersey, and has expressed his desire to both play near home and for the Yankees themselves. However, Cashman also knows that if Pavano pitches well in Spring Training, he could also be dealt for some lefty-support.

And don't be surprised if a blockbuster trade for Johan Santana isn't in the works - Minnesota needs to unload his contract, and the Yankees have a glut of pitching talent jammed down in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Trenton...not all of it is top-tier like Clippard or Hughes, but it would be enough to whet the appetite of any major league GM, including Minnesota's Terry Ryan.

As much as we don't want to move Melky, it would keep Bernie available, since the Yankees seem perpetually hard-headed about keeping two first-basemen on the roster, even though all of them are terrible hitters.

And as far as Dotel goes...he wasn't worth the money. He's damaged goods, and the Yankees don't need another right-handed arm. It will be interesting to see if he's his old self again out in Kansas City, but I think he still has some mental issues to deal with besides the physical ones. He's not worth $5 million per year. Sorry.