Meetings Winding Down But Yanks Stay Active

The winter meetings wind down today and it doesn't look like the Yankees are done making moves. Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News has a story that the Yankees are set to trade Melky Cabrera to the Brewers for Mike Cameron. If it ends up happening, I have no problem with this deal whatsoever. Cameron isn't my ideal choice for the CF job as I don't think he's all that great. But he is definitely an upgrade from the tandem of Melky and Brett Gardner. Melky was absolutely brutal last year. He proved he's no more than a 4th or 5th OF. The Yankees are wise to deal him. Cameron is also buddies with CC, so that doesn't hurt either.

The other "big rumor" from last night also comes from Mark Feinsand. Mark reports that the Yankees are making a big push to sign A.J. Burnett. The offer is reportedly for a guaranteed 5 years at $16 million per year. To quote the article, "the two sides were working into the night on closing a deal." Burnett wants something in the range of $91.5 million, which is what Carlos Zambrano got it his 5 year deal from the Cubs. Man that's a lot of money. And if you ask me, A.J. Burnett is nowhere near as good as Carlos Zambrano. A.J. doesn't deserve that much scratch. The Yankees thankfully agree and aren't willing to go that high. Jerry Crasnick with ESPN has the Yankees offer at about $85 million, which is still waaaaaay too much money. My friend and c-worker Jeff, who comments here as Larry Wayne Jones, is a Braves fan. He and I have been going back-and-forth all week, pretty much saying to each other, "no, you take him." Neither of us are fans of Burnett. We both agree he isn't worth 5 years. It's way too risky. Today though, Jeff was irked because the Yankees were likely going to sign him over Atlanta. He knows that the Braves need him desperately. I'm fine with the Braves signing him. Hopefully they step up to the plate.

I'm still surprised the Yankees aren't going after any offensive upgrades. They just lost their 3 and 5 hitters. I know Posada and Matsui are coming back, but I don't think either of them are suited for the 3 hole. If you move A-Rod up to the 3-spot, I don't see them hitting clean up. Alex is the only clean-up hitter they have right now. I just quickly jotted down a lineup (assuming Mike Cameron is dealt to NY) to see how it looked and this is what I came up with:

1. Damon - LF (lefty)
2. Jeter - SS (righty)
3. ???? (Swisher 1B - switch)
4. A-Rod - 3B (righty)
5. Matsui - DH (lefty)
6. Nady - RF (righty)
7. Posada - C (switch)
8. Cano - 2B (lefty)
9. Cameron - CF (righty)

I'm sorry but Swisher isn't a 3-hitter. I only put him there for lack of a better choice as I think everyone else is best suited where I put them. So do you move Swisher up and move Jeter, maybe even Damon, down a spot? Is Cano worthy of the top of the lineup? I just don't see Posada, Matsui, or Nady as doing well in the 3 or 4 spots. It doesn't make sense to put Nady in between Jeter and A-Rod and have 3 righties in a row. Man, Mark Teixeira's name would look nice in the 3-spot? That lineup would be golden. If anyone else has lineup suggestions, drop 'em on me.

The meetings wrap up today so it could prove to be a pretty active day. Since I started writing this post, there's already a new rumor which throws a twist into the Melky/Cameron deal: The Yankees are also interested in Bill Hall and are looking to expand the deal.

It's going to be a wild day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie