I just checked. Vlad, like John Lackey, is subject to a club option in 2009, which I'm sure the Angels will pick up.

Gotcha, wasn't aware of that, thanks.

No worries. If I knew he was hitting the market I'd be salivating.

How do those Yankees like sniffing Tampa Bay's ass?

Ask Tampa. They've been doing it for the last 10 years. They should know by now.

BTW - I forgot that the Rays have already won the World Series. I wouldn't be surprised if the injuries to Longoria and Crawford now allow Boston to snatch them up and take the division.

It's also funny DJ how this Rays fan comes outta the woodwork 120 games into the season Let's not pat them on the back too hard though, they just set a franchise record with 71 wins But hey, at least it's not Boston right

Yeah, the Rays fans are pretty hilarious, but I guess we'll see how much they care once the Bucs are in full swing...besides, I still want to see whether these injuries will derail the Ray-train.

Also...our Freddie Sayz and the Bleacher Creatures > their wannabe cowbell artist and the gay heckler behind home plate.

Damn straight I'm coming out of the woodwork! Boston may catch the Rays, but the Yankees will be home for the playoffs. And its a good thing. I heard their equipment manager has run out of Depends.

Well, thanks for keeping the seat warm for us. It must have gotten a little stale from sitting there for 11 years.

Still, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next month, Longoria and Crawford are cornerstones and out. Boston should catch them as long as their pitching stays healthy. Tampa does currently have winning records against Boston and LAA.

Again, I'm happy for the Rays, I have no problem with them. In fact, I think they're the only legitimate team who can knock Anaheim out of the playoffs.

I didn't keep the seat warm, I just didn't pat any attention. The only expectation they had this year was to finsh above .500, so anything better than that is a bonus. Next year was supposed to be the breakout year. I think the Yankees-Red Sox-Rays prettty much end the season playing a round robin.

As for the Sox, I may be wrong on this but I think neither team has won an away game against the other. Looks like Crawford is gone for the season, but Longoria may be able to come back.

Funny thing is, I saw Even Longoria come up through the minors sorta. I work for the Hudson Valley Renegades, which is the single-A affiliate to the Tampa Bay Rays. Josh Hamilton also played a few games for them when he started his comeback. So since they were kinda "local boys" I root for them and am happy for their success

I do. Maddon is a putz. That whole bullshit from Spring Training turned any positive feelings I used to have from them to instant hate. His "hard baseball" got one of our catching prospects out for the season, and then Shelly Duncan had to go and even the score, and it was the same old bullshit of "oh noes! unclean baseball" all over again.

Sexson was just released (no bid deal) but they also optioned Melky to the minors. Cody Ransom (a name I know is going to strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers) and Brett Gardner (aka Yankee bloggers second coming of Christ) will be coming up to replace them on the 40-man.

It's not secret I'm a big Melky fan. I hope that this team enjoys watching Johnny Damon attempt to play center. Gardner, in his brief time up with the big club, wasn't hitting any better than Melky was. He's a pinch runner at best imho.

Oh well. Not sure why I care, other than I continue to wonder why the Yankee #9 hitter is still the scapegoat for an entire team of underachievers.

It is kind of ironic, that after 13 straight playoff appearances, they'll more than likely miss them in the final year of Yankee Stadium. Probably not the sendoff they wanted.

FYI---11 games out in the loss column this morning, 7 in the loss in the wild card. I'm not saying they can't do it (look at the Mets last year), but realistically, probably not.

Nah. If you watched last nights game vs. the Royals, it follows the old adage: bad teams find ways to lose games.

That pretty much sums up the season.

I can't remember the last time Mariano threw a wild pitch. Period. Let alone one that blew the game. You're right, DJ. When it rains it pours.

Look at his stats in save situations vs. non-saves. He is a totally different pitcher when he has to keep it close than when he is shutting people down in the 9th inning.

Well, to be fair, that's his job (the 9th inning). I mean, how much can you ask the guy for? He's at least 40 years old (although he claims to be 38 or 39), and he's still one of the top 5 closers in the game.

Speaking of missing their set up man; how many net wins has the Jaba move cost them?

Probably less than the number of wins he's earned as a starter.

...again, bad teams finding ways to lose. Horrible RiSP "production," including an 8th inning that saw the bases loaded with Nady and Cano having opportunities to put the ball in play and take a lead. Rivera blows the hold again.

"Turn the lights out, the party's over..."

I told ya so

---

Steinbrenner willing to open wallet

It was music to the ears of free agents, and their agents. With typical Steinbrennerian certitude, new New York Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner indicated his team is ready to open its wallet in the offseason, especially if the current downturn is not corrected and the team misses the playoffs for the first time since 1995. "We're going to win it next year," Steinbrenner said. "If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we'll do that. We'll do whatever we need to do. Next year we'll be extremely dangerous." CC Sabathia looks like the best starter in the free-agent market that includes Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Ben Sheets next winter, and his price appears to keep shooting up as he pitches Milwaukee toward the playoffs. Then there is Adam Dunn, who seems perfect for Yankee Stadium. Bobby Abreu's contract is up after this year, Jason Giambi is owed a $22 million option the Yankees seem unlikely to pick up, and Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon will be in the last year of contracts in 2009. With all that left-handed power leaving, it seems like a hole Dunn could plug.

Source: SI

You predicted that Steinbrenner would spend some money?

Irish, you really are clairvoyant.

No, I predicted he'd "open up the wallet." We all knew he was going to spend money but I predict a BIG offseason for the Yankees if they miss the postseason (almost like a blessing in disguise). Hopefully he gets what DJ and I were saying: CC, Teixiera/Manny, Sheets and I'd still love to see K-Rod if they could convince him to come and setup Mo for a few seasons.

Hey, PB, go back to your Mets thread!!

Why do I get the feeling that Hank will do something very stupidly "Steinbrennerish", like shell out money for an aging superstar (see Manny) over a several year contract?? I hope that I am wrong, wrong, wrong, but I wouldn't be completely shocked.

They've poured big bucks on Giambi, Mussina, Sheffield, Randy Johnson and A-Rod and that didn't work out the way they had planned.

It's kind of odd for Steinbrenner to announce this. The world knows that the Yankees overspend and will continue to overspend, more than doubling the payrolls of most teams.

Don't forget, George had it planned that Swindal,his drunken son-in-law, was going to run the team before his own flesh and blood. I think he realized his son had some shortcomings.

Let's not rewrite history. Swindal had his DWI and also had marital issues with Jennifer Steinbrenner, which is why he was "out." It wasn't like a crazy drunk was given the reigns, or that he was drunk beforehand. People make mistakes.

Similarly, the Steinbrenner brothers didn't want to take part in baseball operations. Actually, I'm glad that Hal is there, as he seems to balance Hank out.



Giambi has been productive but injured. Sheffield was also productive. Johnson was also injured, but he did have a bunch of wins. A-Rod has been MVP. Out of all of them, I don't know how you can say Mussina hasn't worked out - since acquired, he has been absolutely fantastic, carrying the rotation at times.

The difference between signing guys like Sabathia and Teixiera is that a.) they are still young enough so that they will not be in a Giambi situation when they're contracts are up and b.) these players will be signed at their peaks, not after they have exhausted the 'magic'.

Manny is the only question mark. First, the Dodgers will have to decline their option years on him. Second, Manny will want a monster deal, but I say give it to him. We're cutting a whole lot of dead weight (and payroll) off of this team by waving goodbye to Giambi, 1 of Pettitte/Mussina, Pavano, trading 1 of Matsui or Damon, and Abreu. Heck, as you know, I didn't want to resign Posada either, but meh.

That alone will not only create roster space, it means there is more flexibility in the war chest. Frankly, Sabathia/Teixiera (or Burrell, frankly)/Manny is much more viable than Johnson/Giambi/Sheffield ever were simply because of their ages and current talent levels.

Adding Sabathia means we will finally have an elite pitcher (two if Joba continues to pan out), with Wang a notch below. Adding Teixiera means we've solved the problem at first base, as he's young and hits like a champ (he doesn't have to be a silver slugger). Adding Manny means we have arguably the most dangerous hitter in league in the heart of our order.

You can't tell me that the below roster wouldn't have a little more "punch" than what we've had this year:

Damon/Gardner/Christian
Jeter
Nady
Manny
A-Rod
Teixiera
Posada
Cano
Melky/Gardner/Christian

Also, another name I'd honestly be interested in as a sort of "freak" candidate is Rocco Baldelli. If he ever sorts our his medical issues - and apparently, he does have some whacked out things going on with his body - he's young enough and the Yankees have enough CF candidates where giving Baldelli a minor league contract would be low-risk high-reward.

Wow!

Who knew that deep down DJ had the forgiving heart of a liberal?

I swear, that must be the first time that Double J's name and the word "liberal" ever appeared in the same sentence!!!

Giambi wasn't given a hundred million dollars merely to be productive. He was a league MVP in 1999 and drove in 120 runs with a .342 avg. for a small market team not known for offense, and signed by a team that had just won three consecutive championships that was expecting more. And since then, the Yankees haven't won a championship and Giambi hasn't sniffed an MVP. In fact midway through his contract, as Giambi hadn't sniffed .300 since his first year in the Bronx, the very guy who signed him amid all types of hype was looking for technicalities to jettison him from NY.

Sure, ARod has been an MVP. He was MVP before he came to NY. He wasn't brought in to help them get to the playoffs (or bed strippers and aging pop stars); the Yankees were more than capable of getting to the post season before he arrived. Sure, he should win MVPs in NY, surrounded by a loaded offense. What didn't work out for the Yankees is the fact that he'd be a deer in the headlights during the postseason (Hey, Scott Brosius won a WS MVP).

Mussina has had a nice career in NY, but please, re-read my post. I never said he didn't work out; I said the big dollar signings didn't work out the way they had planned. I didn't even mention Hideki Irabu, Kei Igawa and some others. My point is that this decade there has always been hype and spectacle about all of these signings and it hasn't been nearly as successful as the days of far less heralded players, like Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams and Jim Leyritz.