Reunited And It Feels So Good

Let the Andy Pettitte love fest continue. To quote Bon Jovi, "Who says you can't go home?" Andy Pettitte is back in the Bronx, back in Pinstripes, back where he belongs. It's a perfect fit for the Yankees.
When news first broke about Andy returning in 2007 and that the Yankees had made him an offer, my initial thought was why don't they give that money to Barry Zito? He's younger, you can tie him up longer, and he may be a little bit cheaper. But as I thought about it, I realized that the shape of the Yankee rotation will be changing drastically in the coming years, and they're going to need some open spots. The Yankees have 5 great starters on the farm in Hughes, Clippard, Rasner, Karstens and Sanchez, and it's a safe bet Wang isn't going anywhere. In 2 years, there will be no Pettitte, Mussina, and Randy Johnson. Assuming they don't trade the prospects, we're looking at a future rotation of Wang, Clippard, Hughes, Sanchez, and possibly Karstens and/or Rasner. The Yankee rotation will be made up of 5 young starters, all of which will be pretty cheap in terms of money. Why lock up a Zito, Meche, or Lilly for 4-5 years, with all of these budding prospects, that could turn out to be better than their major league counterparts? Smart move by Cashman. It will pay off in the long run.
The interesting question now is what to do with the rotation? Who will be the odd man out? *cough* Pavano * cough* Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Johnson, Pavano, and in all likelihood, Kei Igawa. I would much prefer Igawa over Pavano. I think anyone would. I've heard rumblings about Pavano being packaged in a deal to Seattle in exchange for Richie Sexson. I wouldn't complain. Sexson would be nice, but expensive. I hear there is also interest in Doug Mientkiewicz. If you ask me, Doug would be a better fit than Sexson. For starters, he's a free agent. We wouldn't have to lose anything. He's a great fielding first baseman, arguable the best that's out there. And most importantly, you don't have to break the bank to sign him. He was paid less than $2 million last year. In keeping with the reduction of salary MO that Cashman has talked about, Mientkiewicz would be a better option than say Sexson or Shea Hillenbrand. Get it done Brain. I command thee. And please, find somebody that will trade some prospects for Pavano.
The Mientkiewicz article also mentions the Yankees are interested in Dustin Hermanson, and are awaiting the review of medical reports before deciding whether or not to make him an offer. Assuming he's healthy, he'd be a solid pick-up. We'll see.
As expected, there wasn't much Yankee happenings at the Winter Meetings. Cashman seems pretty content to give it a go with what he has. It was interesting to see the selection of Josh Phelps in the Rule 5 draft. I had heard good things about Phelps a few years back when he was in the Blue Jays organization. At the time, he was a good prospect that could make a lot of noise. I'm not sure what happened to him. Regardless, it's an interesting move. But I don't see how he fits into the big picture. Trade bait, maybe?
I apologize for being absent as of late. Real life is cutting into fun time. they just canned a fellow supervisor where I work, so the rest of us are busting our humps trying to keep it together. There are 4 of us and they have openings for 4 others. That's how understaffed we are currently. And with the recent firing, I'm know the most senior in the position (2 years, yikes!), so I've got a lot of weight to carry. I'll manage. My posts may just be spaced out. I used to post a lot at work, now, not so much. Mother Nature isn't helping either. I've had to get up early to shovel a few times. One day it took me 3 hours to drive home from work. A drive that normally takes 35 minutes. Nothing is fun about a car ride where you drive at a clip of 8 miles per hour, most of which you're just sitting there. God bless the iPod. Thankfully, there hasn't been much to talk about when it comes to the Yankees. But it looks like things are heating up. 2007 is going to be fun.
Pitchers and catchers in just over 2 months!!!
J