Just curious, Irish. How would you feel about Manny in pinstripes?

Hey, if he can produce the numbers he did in L.A. and protect A-Rod in the lineup, absolutely. On the field presence, yes, clubhouse/off the field, that's the real question.

The Yankees are interested in an aging prima donna?? What will happen next???

You definitely can't argue with Manny's talent. He's great. It's that simple. It's his attitude that is a whole 'nother story, and I can't picture him fitting in well with the rest of the team, but who knows?? Maybe he'll be so happy to be playing with Johnny Damon again that we'll just have a giant group hug before every game.

I love the hot stove. You might as well say that "Several teams in baseball are interested in several free agents this offseason."

I heard Kennedy for Willy Taveras. God help us all if these writers were in charge.

Thankfully, Cashman plays *true* deals close to the vest (see: Abreu-Lidle deal, Nady-Marte, etc.) so just remember 99% of the hot stove speculation (ex. Cano, Hughes, and Jackson for Peavy) is crap.

For all the shit Manny gets regarding his attitude, he still is knocking the piss out of the ball even when he's "causing trouble."

Nice DJ

Yankees Sign Reliever Sergio Mitre to Minor League Deal

Analysis: Shoring up the bullpen, ala Octavio Dotel circa 2007. He had Tommy John surgery and won't be available until around/after the All-Star break. However, he has good strikeout numbers as a reliever. You can never have too many bullpen arms.

Here's some good news

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Peavy adds Yankees, Angels to trade list

DANA POINT, Calif. -- Although five National League teams still top star Padres pitcher Jake Peavy's pre-approved list for trades, general manager Kevin Towers revealed Monday evening that the Angels and Yankees have recently been added to the list of desired teams, bringing the list to seven and giving the American League some representation.

Towers said that the five NL teams -- the Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals and Astros -- remain Peavy's preferred destinations, but Towers said Peavy also expressed a willingness to consider the Angels and Yankees should it be impossible for Towers to find an equitable deal with one of the NL clubs he likes.

Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, said in a recent interview with SI.com that his client has some good feelings about the Yankees. "What kid doesn't grow up dreaming of wearing the pinstripes?'' Axelrod said. Yet, for geographic reasons the Yankees remain below the five NL teams on Peavy's list, and perhaps also the Angels, who have a distinct advantage in that they are the nearest team to Peavy's new home in San Diego.

According to Towers, Peavy has put the teams in some sort of order. But the GM declined to reveal that order.

Towers has done a lot of talking to the Braves, but without a deal in sight, is beginning to talk to the other NL teams now, and doesn't rule out the Dodgers based on their intra-division rivalry. "The Dodgers are high on his list, so I plan on talking to them,'' Towers said.

The price tag will be high, no matter who's inquiring, Towers said. "Whoever we talk to is going to have to pay a lot,'' Towers said.

The Padres are embarking on a rebuilding program, and Peavy was surprised to learn his team wants to explore trade possibilities for its ace less than a year after signing him to a three-year, $53 million extension. Peavy's no-trade clause for this year and next protects him but complicates the trade talks. Axelrod said in the recent interview that they will request a new no-trade clause in exchange for approving a trade, and might also request financial considerations, depending upon the acquiring team and the geography involved.

Towers also said the Padres probably will exercise outfielder Brian Giles' $9 million option by Saturday's deadline and are trying to work out an agreement to keep closer Trevor Hoffman.

Source: SI

Peavy's home/away splits are disturbing. Considering it will probably take at least Cano and Hughes to get him, I'd rather pass and get Sabathia for just money.

I didn't know that. There was always something about Peavy that I didn't like. I never got the sense that he was among the elite pitchers though many disagree. Still, pitching is a prized commodity and he will games. He'll find a home.

Mussina earns seventh Gold Glove - Congrats, Moose!

This is good news

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Sabathia seeks Jeter's counsel

Derek Jeter wouldn't call it recruiting, but the Yankee captain said Friday night that he has spoken this offseason to CC Sabathia, perhaps the Yanks' most vital free agent target. "He's asked questions about us," Jeter said on the red carpet before the annual fund-raising dinner for Joe Torre's Safe at Home Foundation at Chelsea Piers. "But I'll leave it at that. A private conversation that you have with someone is private. If he wants to talk about it, I'll give him the opportunity to do it first." Jeter said he did not have a ready "sales pitch" about the Yanks for Sabathia, the terrific lefty and this winter's top pitching free agent. Jeter was coy about who called whom, but it sounded like Sabathia called him. "I don't ever try to sell New York," Jeter said.

Source: SI

Burnett set to receive offer from Yanks

NEW YORK -- While the Yankees wait for an answer from CC Sabathia, the organization will move forward on at least one more free-agent pitching front, reportedly preparing an offer for right-hander A.J. Burnett.

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that the Yankees are building an offer -- perhaps a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $80 million -- to present to Burnett, who became a free agent when he opted out of his contract with the Blue Jays on Thursday.

The Yankees promised to aggressively target starting pitching this offseason, smarting from their first dark postseason since 1993. New York opened the free-agent period by promising to make Sabathia baseball's best-compensated pitcher, offering a six-year contract worth approximately $140 million on Friday; co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said that the Yankees would also tender offers to Burnett and Derek Lowe.

Burnett also has potential suitors in the Braves and Orioles, and he will likely command a four- or five-year deal worth between $15-18 million annually. The Blue Jays have interest in retaining Burnett, and they are believed to be preparing a four-year offer worth an estimated $54 million, though general manager J.P. Ricciardi maintains that Toronto has yet to present an offer to the pitcher.

Burnett will turn 32 in January, having gone 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA for the Blue Jays this past season. He led the American League with 34 starts and 231 strikeouts, fanning 9.39 batters per nine innings.

The Post also reported that the Yankees remain interested in re-signing left-hander Andy Pettitte, but not at the $16 million price tag he earned in each of the past two seasons, and they continue to believe that Mike Mussina will retire. New York is reportedly also not considered a player in a potential trade for Padres ace Jake Peavy at this time.

Source: Yankees

Source: Mussina to retire after 18-year career
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

As expected, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina has decided to retire, according to a baseball source with knowledge of the situation. Mussina informed the Yankees last week he would give them a decision by the end of this week.

Mussina, who turns 40 next month, spent the last eight seasons with the Yankees after pitching for the Baltimore Orioles for the first 10 years of his career. His 270 wins rank second among all active right-handers, behind only Greg Maddux. In the final start of his career, he pitched six shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox to finish off the first 20-win season of his career.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's just the fifth pitcher since 1900 to win 20 games or more in the final season of his career -- and the first since Sandy Koufax in 1967. He's the only pitcher in that group to win his 20th game in his final start.

The Yankees had indicated they were interested in bringing Mussina back if he wanted to keep pitching. But they had also suggested they might need to wait to see if they could accomplish their goal of signing at least two other free-agent starters this season -- an indication they weren't counting on Mussina to return from the beginning.

His retirement was first reported by Foxsports.com.

It was nice that he was able to win 20 for the first time in his career. He was a very good pitcher, and will get some Hall of Fame consideration. He's a central Pennsylvania boy, but was probably one of the most miserable people to play baseball in the past 20 years. Anyhow, after a bad 2007 season and a less than promising start to 2008, he turned things around dramatically to finish his career in an outstanding way.

My favorite headline to see was "The Moose is Loose" after he pitched a particularly good game. He'll be missed.

Now the pressure is really on the Steinbrenners to get some starting pitching.

I'm just curious. Why do you say that?

Mussina is a sure shot hall of famer in my mind. 270 wins is nothing to laugh about.

ds

Sure shot Hall of Famer? I'm not so sure about that. I'd say he's borderline.

I agree. I wouldn't say he's a shoe-in.

He had a caustic rapport with the press early in his career, and was basically aloof with teammates. A lot of people in the Williamsport area where he is from have described him as nasty and antisocial.

He's borderline, but 270 wins is a lot in his era. His winning pct. is extremely good, and he had several outstanding postseason starts earlier in his career. He did play on quite a few winning teams though, but he was a big contributor. The 20 win season helps him a lot because I think some voters would have passed over him for never winning the Cy Young AND never winning 20. I bet he slips in eventually. I couldn't argue against him.

I would like to see Bert Blyleven get in first though.

Mussina's first couple of years with Yankees were tough for him - he seemed to get little offensive support and he would lose low scoring games. If I recall correctly with Baltimore he led the league in strikeouts once or more.

As far as HOF.....I don't believe in the criteria. It's all about compiling statistics, which, if you're good and healthy can be achieved. If you take the word "fame", it can be achieved without compiling statistics. Take a player who has an outstanding five year run; leads the league in many categories and carries his team. Year six he gets hurt and his career fads. For those five years he earned fame.

Mussina liked to think of himself as an academic athlete and took great pains to disassociate himself from the "jock" image.

Yankees may pass on Burnett if he wants a 5th year

GO YANKEES!!!!!

Finally an article I agree with

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Theo's good, but so is Cashman

Brian Cashman has had a tough start to his winter, for no other reason than he hasn’t been able to convince CC Sabathia to sign despite offering him more money than any pitcher has ever been offered.

Then again, if you were to grade general managers based on their activity this winter, only Jim Hendry of the Cubs would have a passing grade based on the Ryan Dempster signing. Beyond that, not one prominent player has signed, so the jury is out on everybody.

I’ve heard several people in recent weeks and months declare that Cashman is being outdone by Theo Epstein in a major way. I realize that the Red Sox have won two titles since 2004 while Cashman’s team hasn’t won a title since 2000, but I’m missing the part where Theo is redefining what it means to be a GM.

Have some of Boston’s moves worked out well? Absolutely. But it takes no more skill to bid $51.1 million on Daisuke Matsuzaka (then pay him another $50 million or so) than it does to offer Sabathia $140 million.

Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo were two of Theo’s acquisitions that were believed to be tremendous moves when they were made, yet both proved to be huge disappointments. But when you win, those things are forgotten - as well they should be.

Theo made a great trade for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell, but he did give up Hanley Ramirez in that trade, and some argue that Ramirez is already a top-5 player in the majors and could top that list at some point.

The Yankees haven’t had a player like Ramirez to deal away. If they did, they may have made a move for Beckett at that time, though they still wouldn’t have been able to take Lowell and his $18 million in a deal because they already had A-Rod at third base. They could have gotten Santana for a package led by Phil Hughes, but Cashman opted not to for many reasons, most notably that he feels Hughes will be a front-line starter soon enough.

Cashman has made several moves in recent years that backfired, namely Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa and to some extent, Randy Johnson. But to say he’s destroyed this team is a gross misrepresentation.

Where would the Yankees be without Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano or Joba Chamberlain? Say what you will about Johnny Damon, but he’s given the Yankees the leadoff hitter they expected to get when they signed him three years ago. Everybody screamed that the Yankees were crazy to bring Mike Mussina back in 2008 and he won 20 games. Doesn’t Cashman get some credit for not dumping Mussina after his subpar 2007?

Yes, Cashman inherited Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, but there isn’t another player on the roster that was there when he took over as GM in 1998, and yet the Yankees made the postseason every year of his reign until last season.

His trades - particularly the midseason deals for guys like Bobby Abreu and Xavier Nady - have worked out well. The jury is still out on the prospects he got back for Johnson and Gary Sheffield, but simply ridding his team of those two guys when he did was more than enough to qualify those as moderate successes.

Have the Yankees drafted well? Not particularly. Chamberlain is a star in the making, while Hughes is still just 22 and could become a big-time pitcher, too. Austin Jackson is seen as the center fielder of the future and there are some other players at the lower levels (some were drafted, others signed as international free agents) that could make an impact down the road.

Cashman is the lead man on all baseball operations, but he’s not the guy that has scouted the players, so the blame can’t fall entirely on his shoulders. Just the same, Theo isn’t out scouting players for the Red Sox, so the credit for guys like Dustin Pedroia, Justin Masterson, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester goes to the Red Sox scouts more than to the GM.

Clearly the Red Sox have had more success in the past five years than the Yankees, but to say that it’s purely the result of the general managers and their moves is naïve. The 2008 Yankees were largely the same team as the 2007 team that made the playoffs, but players simply didn’t perform as well. It happens. Anyone remember the 2006 Red Sox? Had Boston given up on Theo after the Sox missed the playoffs that year, would that have been the right move?

I know many fans disagree, but Cashman is a solid GM who has a vision to reshape this team as its stars get older. Last year was a rebuilding year of sorts, and they still won 89 games. If it becomes an annual occurrence, he’ll pay for it with his job. But after hearing fans scream and shout for years that the Yankees need to get younger, more athletic and get the payroll below $200 million, it amazes me that people aren’t willing to go through what it takes to get there. Luckily, Cashman is, and the Yankees should be better for it in the long run.

Update: Several astute Red Sox fans have e-mailed me in the past few hours to remind me that Theo wasn’t the GM when the Beckett deal was made, as that was during his short hiatus.

It has been well-documented that Theo was still involved behind the scenes, though technically he may not have been the GM at the time of the trade. Still, I find it hard to believe that he didn’t at least give his input to the deal. I think the Beckett deal turned out remarkably well for the Red Sox, even if they had to give up Ramirez. I’m guessing there’s not a Sox fan out there that would trade the 2007 World Series for Ramirez, no matter how good he turns out to be.

If Theo had nothing to do with the deal, that simply takes a plus away from his résumé. I still believe that even if he wasn’t the one to ultimately pull the trigger, he deserves some of the credit for it.

Source: NY Daily New

Yankees going full throttle after Burnett

With prized left-hander CC Sabathia fielding offers from other clubs, the Yankees are also engaging in a full pursuit of free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett, according to reports.

The Yankees, who long have been said to be in pursuit of Burnett, are said to be willing to go beyond the reported four-year, $60 million offer the Braves have put forth, according to reports on ESPN.com and SI.com.

The ESPN report said agent Darek Braunecker and partner Mark Rodgers arrived in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon and are expected to begin full-scale meetings with clubs regarding Burnett starting on Tuesday.

Burnett, who will turn 32 in January, is considered, along with Derek Lowe, another target of the Yankees, among the top right-handed starters on the market. Burnett set career highs in wins and innings pitched in 2008, going 18-10 with a 4.41 ERA in 221 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays.

Source: Yankees