Long Time, No Blog, Let's Talk LF

Greetings and salutations. I hope everyone out there is doing well and had a great holiday season. My apologies for not posting in a while. I basically shut it down for the holidays. It was nice to get a break. I certainly would have blogged had anything gone down but it's been pretty quiet out there in the Yankees Universe. Nothing is really going down. It's quiet. Almost too quiet.

I was expecting the Yankees to have signed a LF but I guess that's not a priority. I thought for sure Johnny Damon was coming back after the Yankees dealt Melky to the Braves. Now I think the odds of that are slim. It makes sense to me that Johnny hasn't signed with anyone yet. JD stands to make a little more dough once Matt Holliday signs as he'll be the best available player on the market. That should increase his value, albeit not by much. I'm curious to know if the Yankees have had any recent discussions with Damon and his camp about anything, or if that door is truly closed. I heard an interview with Cashman on XM Radio before Christmas and when he commented on Damon he kind of left the door open. When asked about Damon, Cash said something along the lines of, "we've had a good run so far." The quote isn't dead on but I distinctly remember him using the words "so far." That to me says the door isn't closed, though it's probably not open too wide.

Cashman has also said that the team isn't going to be sending any big money guys. That would rule out Matt Holliday. Mark DeRosa has signed with the Giants. Marlon Byrd is signing with the Cubs. The pickings are getting slimmer. MLBTradeRumors has a list on their site of the available free agents. There are currently 18 LFs still on the market:

Garret Anderson (38) - Type B, not offered arb
Marlon Anderson (36)
Emil Brown (35)
Jack Cust (31)
Johnny Damon (36) - Type A, not offered arb
David Dellucci (36)
Cliff Floyd (37)
Jonny Gomes (29)
Matt Holliday (30) - Type A, offered arb
Reed Johnson (33)
Greg Norton (37)
Wily Mo Pena (28)
Jeremy Reed (29)
Gary Sheffield (41)
Cory Sullivan (30)
Fernando Tatis (35) - Type B, not offered arb
Marcus Thames (33)
Randy Winn (36) - Type B, not offered arb

Not too many names that get me excited. I don't think the Yanks are looking to lock up anyone long-term. Carl Crawford hits the market next year and the Yanks are going to definitely be major players for his services. There are some guys listed above who I'm sure would be a suitable place-holder for 1 year. Again, none jump off the page at me. Whoever it ends up being, if it's anyone, has to be better than Brett Gardner. If I had to pick a guy, I'd go with Randy Winn, or maybe Jack Cust. I know Cust whiffs a lot, but he gets on base and he's a lefty with a lot of power. If Cust can hit 30 bombs in Oakland imagine what he can do with the short porch in the Bronx? But his defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Yankees offense shouldn't need that much of a boost. I guess I go with defense for LF. So let me change my preference to Winn or even Garret Anderson. I can live with one of them on a one-year deal. I'd take both over Brett Gardner, though Gardner starting in LF wouldn't be the end of the world.

So let's check the pulse. Who do you want in LF? You OK with Gardner? Want them to bring back Johnny D? Go big or go home and get Holliday? Play the role of GM. What do you do?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

PS- If you've sent me an e-mail over the last few weeks I'll be getting to that shortly. Thanks for your patience.