A-Rod's Last Stand

Update my post from yesterday about A-Rod being the only Yankee not to stay with the team in Toronto There is no update. I still haven't heard any discussion on the topic. I sent an e-mail to the XM morning show late last night and they must have chose not to address it as it wasn't brought up. Hopefully it's nothing, but I still think it's a little odd.
When I was listening to the show they brought up a story that the Angels are interested in trying to acquire A-Rod from the Yankees during the offseason. I had thought I heard that a while ago, around the time of the non-waiver trade deadline, but I passed it off as one of those rumors you always hear about trade talks. I'd be on the fence about trading A-Rod, especially to the Yankees kryptonite, the Angels. Besides, can you really replace Alex Rodriguez with equal value? I don't see the Yankees really needing that much. Go around the horn at the prospective starters in 2007: Posada, Giambi/Sheffield, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod, Abreu, Damon, Matsui. The Yankees will again be stacked from top to bottom. If you were to lose A-Rod's production, which lets face it is still nothing to complain about, you're losing a huge stick in that lineup. What could the Angels possibly have that the Yankees could use that would keep them as competitive? Would the Yankees do it as a salary dump, and possibly spend some money on another productive 3B? The Angels definitely have the prospects to part with, but as a Yankee fan, I'm more interested in major league ready talent. Perhaps pitching? Johnson isn't a spring chicken. Moose is in the last year of his contract and is already the second highest paid pitcher in the game. Who knows what you'll get from Wright, Lidle, Pavano. They're probably serviceable, but I don't think they'd be enough to win. So perhaps the Yankees go after pitching? Ervin Santana maybe? Regardless of what they trade for, the Yanks would probably free up some serious cash they could spend on pitching. I guess I would need to see/hear particulars about a trade to get behind it one way or another, but at first thought of trading Alex, I'm against it. He's A-Rod for crying out loud.
But were quite a ways off from anything happening if this isn't just some idle banter. A-Rod's future as a Yankee might have a lot to do with how he and the Yankees do this October. If they bring home #27 and A-Rod "earns his stripes" there's no way you trade him. Thankfully for we Yankee fans, we have the game's greatest GM in Brian Cashman. If there is one thing I know to be fact with respect to trading A-Rod, it's that Cashman would only do it if it betters the Yankees chances to win. He's not going to make a deal if it's going to hurt the greatest ball club in all the land. Say it with me: the 9-time defending AL East champions, the New York Yankees. Hopefully come the end of October, we'll add "the 27 time World Champions" to that moniker.
Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J-Boogie