Wow. I can't believe people honestly think that Andy Phillips or Miggy Cairo could be good players.

Andy Phillips was let go in Spring Training because he sucks. He's a AAAA player.

Miggy Cairo sucks.

Shelly Duncan sucks.

Richie Sexson lost his swing, and now sucks.

Want to know who they shouldn't have let go?

Nick Johnson, the Yanks best position prospect since Derek Jeter and unfortunately dealt for (useless) Javier Vasquez.

Incidentally, Cashman said today that Matsui will DH, Damon will play the outfield, and they're going to get a first baseman.

Coincidentally, Giambi's option was (thankfully) not picked up.

Well, DJJ what it all comes down to, no matter who you think sucks, or I think sucks.......Cashman sucks.

How does Cashman suck? He protected the Yankee youth that would have been spent on overpriced aging hipsters. Explain to me how he sucks.

I'm put him in the 8th inning spot to cover for Joba so he can move to the rotation (problem solved hopefully)

The problem is already solved. Phil Coke is going to be decent and a lefty. Damaso Marte showed why they traded for him in the last month and a half - he's been lights out. And Mark Melancon, the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera, should be hitting the Majors at some point next year.

The Yankees bullpen, for the first time since the Nelson-Rivera-Wetteland years, is solid.

But of course, Brian Cashman sucks.

Ah, I'd use him as a #4 or 5 but I wouldn't care either way if we got him or not

Lowe is a big game pitcher. He doesn't get rattled. He's one of the main reasons I picked the Dodgers over the Cubs.

I really wished we picked him up when he became a FA a few years back after he was done with the Sox.

Alas, we took Johnny Damon.

Padres have Peavy on the block, but I doubt he'll go for anything less than Hughes, Cano, and another top prospect.

Although I have also heard Ichiro and Bedard are available. Who would do Matsui, Kennedy, Igawa (they still want him, for some undetermined reason) and a prospect for that Seattle salary dump?

In a heartbeat! I heard a rumor last night that the Red Sox may go after Peavy. The person who wrote the rumor thinks the Sox have the trade chips to make the deal happen.

Red Sox covet Padres' Peavy

If Jake Peavy does indeed become trade bait in San Diego, watch the line form out the door for his services. Peavy, 27, is precisely the type of pitcher the Red Sox covet. And considering the close relationship between GMs Theo Epstein and Kevin Towers, don't rule out the Sox. The Padres would want a Dan Haren-type deal, and the Sox have the chips to do it.

Source: SI

That's fine. I'd rather let Peavy go and go after Sabathia and Burnett. My problem with Peavy is that a.) he'll cost too much ala Haren b.) his home/away splits aren't very good, and c.) he's been routinely lousy in big-game situations.

I really hope CC goes to New York but the more I read about it, the more I get the feeling it's not going to happen. To me, he doesn't seem to want to go their unless the Yankees throw enough money at him to make him come. I don't know if the Yankees will want to overpay for him, it depends on how desperate they feel.

Sabathia came out recently and said he'll "play anywhere" but I agree, he wants to play on the West Coast. I'd rather see them throw big money at Manny and Texiera, and go after second tier guys like Burnett (just got done pitching an entire year healthy, so a good risk), Lowe (a nice #3 or #4 in the AL East) and possibly Sheets (higher risk than Burnett). You'll need more or less depending on whether Mussina and/or Pettitte retire.

Ideally:

Sabathia
Wang
Chamberlain
Lowe
Hughes

Less Ideally:

Wang
Burnett/Sheets
Chamberlain
Lowe
Hughes

Sort-of Ideally:

Wang
Chamberlain
Lowe
Mussina
Hughes

Not Very Ideally:

Wang
Chamberlain
Lowe
Pettitte
Hughes

Crap:

Wang
Chamberlain
Pettitte
Mussina
Hughes

I'd honestly let Dandy Andy go. He...is done. Mussina? Try to get him to come back, but Lowe is a must-have if he retires. Chamberlain and Hughes both will be in the rotation next year, no question. Wang leads. Burnett and Sheets are injury prone which means you need Lowe if you get either one of them to supplant in emergency.

I've read online that the Yankees should look into trading Melky or Cano. You think they should? I know losing Cano would leave a big hole for them to fill but do you think it'd be worth it to get a Brandon Webb or Rich Harden?

Not sure why either team would deal those pitchers. You'd have to start with a package that begins with Cano, and ends with Hughes and probably two prospects for either Webb or Harden at this point.

I'd say a better deal would be, honestly, looking for a big deal that brings back Ichiro and Bedard. Primarily, it fixes our leadoff and center field issues, and gives us an ace. Seattle needs a salary dump. The problem is that Ichiro is on the wrong side of 34 and is locked in until 2012, which could mean trouble if his famous legs give out on him. Similarly, Bedard is out after his surgery until at least halfway through 2009, and he's an FA at the end of the season.

These factors could obviously influence who we send back, and since Seattle wants a salary dump, I'd say we could theoretically fleece them. I like this deal if it could be contingent on putting some extra years on the Bedard deal. Even if he is injured, he's still got electric stuff.

But to deal Cano now would be to sell low, and I think that's a mistake. Melky probably will be a bench player next year at best; the Yankees are pretty high on Brett Gardner as well so that's an interesting scenario. But I don't think Melky has much trade value.

I think, even though Cashman has alluded to possibly dealing Cano, that if the Yanks make a *big* trade this offseason, there are a few things that have to happen first. The first being that Sabathia would sign somewhere else. The second being they lose out on the Lowe and Burnett sweepstakes. The third being they secure neither Teixiera nor Manny.

In that case, then yes, I'd definitely expect to see Cano moved. The problem is the best available 2nd baseman right now on the FA list is Orlando Hudson. Ugh.

So yes, a trade for pitching or outfield help is going to create a hole in the infield, but I'd honestly expect Cano in pinstripes next year. As long as they can get 2 of Sabathia, Lowe, Burnett, or Sheets , and 1 of Teixiera or Manny, I'll be pretty happy. Those free agent splashes will help enough so that we can get a little more freedom in the lineup.

I won't like though. If I were the Yankees, Manny is my #1 target this offseason, bar none. Not only has he basically said he wants to play for the Yankees, but he's a New York guy and we know he crushes the fuck out of the ball no matter what. Use him to protect A-Rod. It instantly boosts our RiSP.

Similarly, Teixiera, though I have gone back and forth on this, is another necessity. Maybe he's not a premier player like Pujols, but he's a stellar defensive first baseman who can get you the big hit. He's also a character guy. Watch his swing - it's got a touch of Gehrig in there (although not the power). He solidifies our corner infield position that has been awry since Mattingly retired.

I agree about Manny but I still feel the Yankees #1 priority is pitching, namely CC Sabathia

The point is that I don't think Sabathia really wants to play in New York, and thus, even if they throw a ton of money his way and he turns them down, there are still very good second tier pitchers available. However, Manny and Teixiera are keys to relieving the anemic offense we had last year.

A question for Yankee fans. A.J. Burnett or C.C. Sabathia?

CC in a heartbeat

Why am I not surprised. I knew this wouldn't be the end:

---

Schilling might consider returning to Red Sox for second half of '09

BOSTON (AP) -- Curt Schilling is considering coming back next year -- for half the season.

The Boston Red Sox right-hander, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on June 23, said in an interview with Sporting News that he might try to pitch in 2009 under the right circumstances.

"I won't come back for a full season, that much I know. If I do decide to come back I would work to the point I was ready and somewhere around May 1 let the teams know I wanted to pitch the second half," he said.

"I'd obviously need to spend June in the minor leagues building it all back up and then hopefully come back and help a team in contention win a World Series. All of this is predicated with the fact that I am completely healthy and able to pitch like I did prior to breaking my shoulder early in 2007."

Still, Schilling said retirement is a strong possibility.

"If I had to make that decision today, yes, I'd retire," he said.

Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed the surgery, estimated a few hours after it ended that Schilling could be throwing a ball in four months and throwing from a mound within seven months, by late January.

Schilling, a six-time All-Star who turns 42 next month, is signed only for 2008 at $8 million. He didn't pitch this season and isn't happy with the way things went.

"So much happened that left a bad-to-bitter taste in my mouth that I just am not sure. So much was and has been said about me by people that have no idea what has transpired over the past 12 months, and that bothers me." he said. "What I do know is in the past 23 years I've never gone through a winter and not had specific dates where I began to get ready for camp. I am wondering if that will be a change or if like much of the rest of this, I'll hit those dates and feel no different."

Schilling is 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA and 3,116 strikeouts during his 20-year major league career. He is 11-2 in postseason play and was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with Randy Johnson for Arizona.

Source: SI

CC Sabathia, and then Burnett. But both would be better.

And Schilling is irrelevant. The Red Sox are doing quite fine without him.

I'm surprised he didn't have to thrown in a token anti-Yankee comment. Meh.

Yeah, he's losing his touch

The payroll of the Yankees is what, 200 million dollars? Why stop at just Sabathia and Burnett? Why not just buy the Brewers and the Blue Jays and be done with it?

Because we actually wanna win

What Irish said. Why would we want to adopt two teams who somehow manage to be worse than we are?

Granted, the Indians were absolute shite this season but at least the Brewers made the playoffs no? In any case let's look at both Sabathia and Burnett.

C.C. 17 - 10 253 IP 251 K 2.70 ERA 1.12 WHIP 4.25 K/BB 8.93 K/9IP

A.J. 18 - 10 221 1/3 IP 231 K 4.07 ERA 1.34 WHIP 2.69 K/BB 9.39 K/9IP

Other than W/L which isn't the most effective or useful stat to determine the worth of a pitcher and strikeouts per 9, Sabathia has the better numbers. Sabathia is also a few years younger so yeah I'd say he has the better upside. The scary reality of the situation for non Yankee fans is that little Stein is probably gonna get both of them and a monster bat and every one else in the A.L. East is gonna be pretty much fu**ked next season. I don't see Tampa duplicating the miracle of this season, Boston, well let's just say I don't want them to win. Baltimore??? Seriously eh? That leaves the Jays and the Yanks. As you fellas probably know, our rotation is pretty much fu**ed for next season due to the injury of Shaun Marcum and the fact that A.J. is as good as gone. That leaves us with Doc, Casey Janssen (who may or may not stay in the bullpen when he fully recovers from Tommy John), D-Mac, Jesse Litsch and filler. If the bats are as shit as they were this season, the Red Sox run into some bad luck, the Rays go back to sucking ass and the Orioles remain the Orioles, the Yankees will probably win the East.

Brewers made the playoffs in the NL. As most know, I'm pretty confident the Orioles could make the playoffs in the NL.

Of course Sabathia has the better numbers, but he wants to play on the West Coast, which means other options have to be pursued.

Yes the NL is quite weak. I believe Sabathia said he wants to play in Califorina. That narrows it down to the Dodgers, the Angels, the Padres, the A's and the Giants. However if Steinie makes him an offer he can't refuse I'm pretty sure he'll take it.

We'll see. I still think he's going to end up out West.