Say No To A.J.

According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Yankees are going to make an offer to A.J. Burnett in the very near future, likely topping Atlanta's offer, which was 4 years/$60 million with a vesting option.

I'm really starting to wonder what to believe. This means the Yankees will reportedly have offers out to Burnett, Sheets, and Sabathia. There's also reported interest in Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez. That's a lot of starters. I understand hedging your bets but it seems like a lot. It makes me wonder if all of these reports are true, or if they're just drummed up to sell papers and get a few web hits.

For the purpose of this post, let's pretend that the Yankees will in fact trump the Braves' offer. I really hope the Yankees stay away from Burnett at the rumored terms. 5 years and $15 million-plus for an oft-injured pitcher who only seems to nut up and get in 200 innings when a new contract is on the line seems like way too much. As I've stated several times here, I'd rather see the Yanks explore other avenues first. They definitely need to upgrade the rotation and land a few pitchers. Burnett makes less sense to me than Sheets and even Oliver Perez. I think those guys could be had at much more favorable terms and would put up similar, if not better, numbers than Burnett.

Not being in Vegas and privy to the Yankees internal discussions, it's hard for anyone to say what's really going on. Who really knows what the Yanks got cooking and if the names we're hearing are even interested in donning the pinstripes? It's sure fun to talk about though.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Monday Meeting Wrap-Up

Day 1 of the winter meetings is now complete and we're really no closer to knowing anything about the state of the 2009 Yankees. The only interesting tidbits that came out last night were that CC Sabathia requested a 2nd meeting with the Yankees brass, and that the Yankees are preparing to make Ben Sheets an offer.

I'm encouraged that CC asked for a 2nd meeting. It shows that he has genuine interest in playing for the Yanks. The meeting was reportedly to talk about the NY area and how it might fit in with his family plans. I take that as a good sign. CC obviously prefers to play on the west coast. I think he's coming to grips that the interest isn't there. Well, there's interest sure, but not at the terms I'm sure he's looking for. He supposedly said he wanted to play for the Dodgers. The Dodgers seem to be focused on upgrading their offense so it doesn't look like the $$ will be there. The Angels still seem to be heavily invested in Mark Teixeira and if they land that big whale they probably won't have the dough to get Sabathia. And I doubt the Giants have the money either. I think CC is realizing that the offer from the the Yankees may be to good to pass up.

It's also being reported by Mark Feinsand of the Daily News that the Yankees are preparing to make Ben Sheets an offer. the rumored proposal is a 2 year deal worth about $30 million. While I think $15 million is a lot for Ben Sheets, I'm a fan of the length of the contract. I would rather see the Yanks take on Sheets for 2 years than commit to AJ Burnett, or even Derek Lowe, for 4 or 5 years. The Yankees have some good arms waiting in the wings and it's not a bad idea to leave openings for them in the near future. Sheets is risky as, like Burnett, he hasn't exactly been the picture of health during his career. I think he's a better pitcher than Burnett and if he can stay healthy, he's definitely a top of the rotation kind of guy. And of course, it's now being reported, by Joel Sherman of the NY Post, that the Yankees haven't decided on whether or not to offer Sheets a deal. Expect a lot more of this throughout the winter meetings. There always seems to be someone that contradicts somebody else. In this case, I'm believing Mark Feinsand, but we'll see.

The winter meetings are fun, aren't they?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Winter Meeting Updates

I came across these updates over at FoxSports.com. They were posted by Ken Rosenthal.

12:49 p.m. — Dodgers, Yanks talk trade
As the Dodgers try to resolve their infield, they are again talking to the Yankees about a trade for second baseman Robinson Cano. The teams have resumed their discussions about Cano at the winter meetings, according to one source.
The Dodgers also are interested in Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, and the Yankees likely would want outfielder Matt Kemp and pitching in return.
The Dodgers' interest in Cabrera is a sign that they might not be confident of Andruw Jones making a strong return in 2009. The Dodgers also need to find a match for Juan Pierre, who has requested a trade.

I really hope that the Yankees aren't looking to deal Cano. I think that would be a huge mistake. If you ask me, HOF-caliber 2Bs are hard to come by. A lot of people have compared Cano to HOFer Rod Carew. Cano has a solid glove and has the potential to be one of the best hitters in the game. I know the Yankees will have a lot of OF openings next year and Kemp would fit in, but OFs are a dime a dozen. Finding a good OF is a lot easier than finding a good 2B. They have a poll on FoxSports asking if the Yanks should trade Cano. 31% say no, 69% say yes if the package is right. The only thing that makes the package right for me is Chad Billingsley. If he's not part of the package, I sit on Cano. Cano's troubles all stem from a lack of motivation and focus. It's Joe Girardi's job to get 100% from him. Torre and Bowa wrote the book on how to get 100% from Cano. Girardi should be able to follow the blueprints that they laid down.

UPDATE (3:15pm): According to Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, the Yankees and Dodgers haven't resumed any talks about a Cano/Kemp deal. It wouldn't be the winter meetings if there weren't conflicting reports. Doubt it will be the last time it happens.

12:31 p.m. — Burnett shows interest in Yanks
A.J. Burnett seems more interested in pitching in New York than CC Sabathia, the Yankees' other top free-agent target. While Sabathia sits on the Yankees' offer of the richest-ever pitching contract and reportedly met with GM Brian Cashman, Burnett has reached out to former Yankee Carl Pavano, who did not steer him away from the Yankees. Pavano, who did not enjoy his New York experience, told Burnett "he has the stuff to pitch there," according to a major-league source. --Ed Price

So A.J. asked Carl Pavano what NY was like? Interesting. Burnett always struck me as the type who would say, if asked, that it was a dream of his to put on the pinstripes. I still hope he goes elsewhere, specifically to Atlanta. I still don't think he's worth the price. There is a lot of risk with taking on the injury-plagued Burnett and I don't think the risk is worth the reward.

Nothing major has gone down but it's still early. I'm hoping to hear something "official" from the Yanks on Cashman's meeting with CC. Apparently, Cash brought Reggie Jackson and Joe Girardi along. Here's hoping Mr. October can deliver in December.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Vegas Baby! Vegas!

I haven't been around the blogosphere much today but I can guarantee I'm not the only person to use "Vegas Baby" in their blog post. It's just so apropos. So it's the eve of the winter meetings and I ave to say I'm pretty excited. I'm expecting some big things to go down this week. I wouldn't be surprised if all the big name free agents find homes by the time the meetings draw to a close. Unless of course nobody wants to be the first domino to fall. I saw that Peter Gammons was reporting that CC Sabathia is waiting to see what the Angels do with Mark Teixeira. He also reported that Derek Lowe was waiting for Sabathia to set the market. I didn't catch what Teixeira was waiting on but with Scott Boras at the helm, who knows?

Cashman was expected to meet with CC today. I haven't read anything yet about the meeting so who knows what's going down? I think we'll know soon though. I don't think Cashman will wait long if he gets the feeling that CC isn't that interested. At least I hope he doesn't. And quite honestly, I don't think he is. This meeting could be Cashman's chance to sell CC on pitching and living on the east coast. But if CC is really waiting to see what the Angels do with Teixeira, I take that to mean he's not all that high on pitching for the Yankees. Maybe it's just a 2 horse race for CC's services. If the Angels land Teixeira I don't see them having the dough to also sign CC. The problem there is that Teixeira wants to play on the east coast. So here we have Teixeira who wants to play on the east coast and is being coveted by a west coast team. And then we have Sabathia who wants to play on the west coast and is being highly sought after by an east coast team. It looks to me like the ball is in the Angels' court. I'm really curious to see how that all plays out.

This should be an interesting week to say the least. I'm curious to see who'll be the first big guy to sign and when. If I had to guess on a who and when, I'd guess A.J. Burnett will sign with the Braves tomorrow. He seems to be the guy that's on his own agenda and isn't waiting on anybody else. I kind of hope he does sign with the Braves because that will get him off the Yankees radar. I'm starting to come around to the idea of the Yankees signing Ben Sheets, assuming he declines the Brewers offer for arbitration. I think Sheets has better stuff than Burnett and he should come at a lower cost. If he can stay healthy, he's an ace for sure.

I've been waiting all offseason for the hot stove to start roaring. I really have the feeling that this will be the week that we've all been waiting for. Let the games begin.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Cash Is A Busy Boy

As it turns out, Brian Cashman didn't fly out to California to meet with the devil, err, I mean Scott Boras. Cash took a trip to Washington, DC where he met with Boras as well as Mark Teixeira. According to Tyler Kepner of the NY Times, the meeting with Teixeira came at the request of Scott Boras. So Boras requested Cashman meet with Teixeira? That's a little odd don't you think?

There are only 2 reasons I can think of why Boras would want this meeting to take place.

1. Mark Teixeira wants to play for the Yankees
2. Scott Boras wants the Yankees involved for Teixeira's services so he can maximize the dollars he receives

Scott Boras is a pretty shrewd guy. As much as I want to believe that Teixeira wants to play for the Yanks, I think scenario #2 is much more likely and was the primary motivation for the sit down request. Fingers are crossed though that #1 is it. Teixeira would be a huge addition to the Yankees lineup. I know the primary focus this offseason is pitching, as it should be, but landing Teixeira would be huge for the Yankees. If the Yankees fail to land the big free agent pitchers, I can't see how they won't make a big push for Teixeira.

When I heard yesterday that Cashman was meeting with Boras, I immediately thought that there was more to the meeting than talking about Derek Lowe. I couldn't see Cash flying across the country for a meeting to discuss just Lowe. To me that wouldn't be worth the trip. You know there was more on the agenda and it looks like Texieira was a primary point of discussion. Cashman must have a few more pots boiling on the hot stove. I like it.

Cash's next focus is a sit-down with the CC, which is rumored to be happening sometime this weekend. Hopefully, the Yanks get their answer from him be it good or bad. CC is obviously Yankee target numero uno. They need to know what the big guy's intentions are and they need to know soon. I think it's a wise move to try and meet with CC, especially before the winter meetings. A decision from CC would certainly help the Yankees set a game plan for the winter meetings. Cashman can't go into Vegas without having a plan. If CC leaves the team in limbo, Cash isn't going to be able to effectively execute his plan, whatever it may be. We very well could know what's going to happen by Sunday night. God, I hope we do. If CC is still non-committal, which is likely if he's waiting on the west coast teams to join the party, I think the Yanks need to withdraw the offer and move on. I want CC as much as everybody else, but in the long run his indecision is going to do the Yanks more harm than good. Even though Vegas is in the desert, ships are going to be sailing out of that port next week. I'll be pretty ticked if the Yankees miss out because they're waiting on Sabathia.

What happens in Vegas isn't going to stay in Vegas.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Case Of Shoddy Journalism?? Me Thinks Yes

I hopped online after "My Name Is Earl" to see if there were any breaking developments in the world of MLB. My home page is set to Yahoo. As soon as it popped up, a headline immediately caught my eye: A-Rod chooses to play for Dominican Republic instead of U.S. I click on the link and the title reads: A-Rod to play for Dominican in WBC. It's not quite the breaking development I was hoping for, but it'll do. It's something. And then I read the article.

In my opinion, the article is a classic POS. Gordon Edes, the author of the article, writes it as if it's fact, when in fact it's based on pure speculation. Edes draws the conclusion that A-Rod is playing for the DR because David Ortiz says he wants to. Edes writes, “He wants to play for the Dominican team,” Ortiz said by telephone Thursday. “We’ll talk about it now after he gets here, and he’ll probably announce it here.” (Alex is playing in a Ortiz'z charity golf tourney this weekend.)

The next paragraph of the article reads:

Ortiz said he has not spoken recently with Rodriguez about his intentions, but that as far back as the All-Star Game last July in New York, he said A-Rod had expressed a desire to play for the Dominican Republic

So A-Rod is playing for the DR because he mentioned to Ortiz that he wanted to back in July, and hasn't reaffirmed that intention with anyone since. Yeah, that definitely sounds like he's playing for the DR! Now I could really care less who Alex plays for in this year's WBC. If he wants to play for the DR and not the US, no problem with me. I won't feel shunned at all. It's not really that big a deal and it's not the point of this post. It's just annoying when sports writers pass gossip and speculation off as fact. Don't know why it annoys me so much, but it does. I'd be totally fine with it if the article and it's headlines were written differently. How hard would it have been to include the word "possibly" as in A-Rod might possibly play for the DR. Would that have been so hard?

If I were a betting man, I'd bet my hard-earned duckets that Alex does end up playing for the DR. I really hope though that he doesn't, just so Edes looks like the douche that I take him to be. This article strikes me more as a vehicle to start some Alex-bashing than anything else.

I'm curious to know if anyone out there thinks I'm the dope here that's totally misreading the article. Please feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

J-Boogie

Yanks Giving Burnett The 5th Year?

Saw this over at MLBtraderumors. Ken Davidoff at Newsday mentions that the Yankees are willing to give A.J. Burnett a vesting option for a 5th year. I'm not 100% on the definition of vesting option, but I think it means that the 5th year would automatically kick in if A.J. were to meet certain stipulations. For example, if A.J. pitches a minimum of 180 innings in year 4, the 5th year automatically kicks in. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure it's something along those lines.

I would much prefer this to a guaranteed 5th year. There are a lot of red flags when it comes to Burnett. I don't think he's proven himself worthy of a guaranteed 5 year deal. He needs to earn it and a 5th year vesting option would be ideal. If the Yanks happen to sign him, I still wouldn't be overly thrilled. I know he's one of the best options available and the Yankees rotation is in need of a lot of help. He would definitely better the ball club, but I just don't trust him to perform. I'm not sold on the guy as being legit. He has the stuff physically, but I'm not sure if it's there mentally.

It probably won't matter anyway. The Braves are reportedly giving him a guaranteed 5th year which I think is enough to get him to sign with Atlanta. The stove is heating up. Hope some things happen soon.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The Way-ay-ting Is The Hardest Part

Ho hum ho hum. Not much news happening out there in Yankeeland. All has been pretty quiet since the Yankees offered CC his big fat offer. No major developments. Not hot juicy rumors. Nothing. The suspense is killing me. I want to know where CC is headed. I don't think we'll have to wait too much longer. I really think something will be done by the end of the winter meetings. That always seems to be the time when big deals get brokered and announced. I'm still thinking that CC is going elsewhere. I can't help but think he would have signed already if he wanted to come here. Surprisingly though, there haven't been any other offers that have been mentioned. I find that kind of odd. Are the other teams not really that interested in CC? His agent has to know what kind of interest there is, right? You'd think if there were no interest, we already would have seen CC's mug plastered on TV with a Yankees cap superimposed on his dome. But that hasn't happened? So what the heck is going on? What's everybody waiting for? I'm dying over here. Give me something.

My friend Jeff (aka Larry Wayne Jones) was telling me at our weekly meeting of the minds, which is lunch at Fuddruckers, that the Braves were going to pony up the 5th year for A.J. Burnett. According to MLBTradeRumors, that's the word on the street. If it's true, I think Burnett signs that contract with the quickness. I think any team would be silly to give A.J. a 5 year deal. I just wouldn't commit to that much time and money for a guy with A.J.'s track record. I also think he's overhyped. I was never really big on the idea of him pitching in pinstripes. He may be thought of as the "2nd best" free agent pitcher out there, but I don't think the risk is worth the reward. I will not be disappointed at all if he doesn't play for the Yankees.

I really think the Yanks are going to come up on the short end of the stick when it comes to landing the any of top free agent pitchers. If they end up striking out on CC, Burnett, and Lowe (another guy I can live without), I don't see how they don't go all out for Mark Teixeira and/or Manny Ramirez. They're going to have to outslug a lot of teams if they're pitching isn't up to snuff. I know signing Manny would give the Yankees another OF/DH type, which they don't really need, but Brian Cashman could get creative with the roster. I can see him moving Damon to CF for the year and letting Gardner and/or Melky stew in the minors, or be the 4th OF. I can see him trading Damon and plugging Manny into LF. I can see him dealing Matsui and making Manny the DH. Cashman would have many options and Manny would make the Yankees offense exponentially better. Manny is arguably the best right handed hitter to have ever stepped onto a baseball field. Imagine putting him behind A-Rod? Ouch. And there are going to be a lot of openings in the OF come 2010. Manny might not be bad to have around. I only advocate going after him if the market runs dry on top pitchers. Same with Teixeira. Pitching should be, and rightfully is, the top priority this offseason.

I really think as soon as one of the top free agents sign, be it a pitcher or position player, a chain reaction is going to occur where they all sign one after another. The winter meetings kick off this Monday in Vegas and where better to have that all go down. I have the feeling a lot is going to happen in Vegas, and it's not going to stay there.

It should be an exciting, and hopefully eventful, week.

Peace, love, and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Don't Offer Arbitration To Anyone

According to various reports, the Yankees didn't end up offering arbitration to any of their arbitration eligible free agents. I'm a little surprised, and puzzled, by their decision not to, but at the same time I understand why they didn't.

Pete Abraham has this quote from Brian Cashman on his blog:

"The determination we made today was to make sure that we control what amount we’d be spending at least in the event that we’re fortunate enough to bring those players back. We did not want to put ourselves in a position of having that determined by a third party without knowing what that figure would be. The arbitration time period falls in early February, so obviously as we attempt to put this team together, in Andy’s case and Bobby’s case, they made $16 million last year. It’s been tough in the past to try and deviate from previous years earnings in an arbitration setting. We wanted to be able to control the cost that we would allocate for every position on the club. Even though we wanted draft picks if we lost anybody, by offering arbitration we would lose out ability to determine a final cost. So by doing so, we chose to go a different direction, not offer arbitration and we’ll still stay engaged with the entire free agent market including those two players.”

It makes sense that they wouldn't want to risk having these guys accept arbitration and then paying them a salary close to what they earned last year. Pettitte definitely isn't worth $16 million. Abreu? Maybe. I go back and forth on Bobby. It's still possible that both Andy and Bobby can end up back in Pinstripes. If they do, it's going to be on the Yankees' terms. I like that aspect of it.

It sounds like Cashman has an idea of what he wants the overall salary for the upcoming season to be. I'm still not sure that he made the right call. It would have been nice to pick up those extra draft picks but what's done is done.

I wonder why he didn't offer arbitration to Moose? That one seemed like a no-brainer.

J-Boogie

Happy Arbitration Day

Teams have until midnight tonight to offer their free agents arbitration. The arbitration eligible Yankees are Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Rodriguez, Carl Pavano, and Jason Giambi.

If the player accepts the team's offer, welcome back to the Yankees. If they reject the offer, the Yankees will get compensation picks in this year's amateur draft if the player signs with another team. The # of picks the team receives is based on if the player is a type A or type B free agent. If the team doesn't offer arbitration, then the player remains the free agent that he is.

This is kind of an interesting process. A lot of teams offer arbitration to guys they don't really want back, thinking that the player will sign somewhere else and they'll get the compensation picks. It's kind of like an educated gamble. There has been no official word as to who, if anyone, the Yankees will offer arbitration to. If I'm Brian Cashman, here's what I do:

1. Bobby Abreu - offer arbitration. Bobby is looking for a multi-year deal and the Yanks don't really want to give him one. Odds are says he'll reject the offer, but if he comes back, he's not a bad guy to have. I wouldn't mind him being back in Pinstripes.
2. Mike Mussina - offer arbitration. With Moose retiring a few weeks ago, there's no chance he accepts.
3. Andy Pettitte- offer arbitration and hope he accepts. Yanks could use AP especially if CC, A.J., and Lowe go elsewhere
4. Ivan Rodriguez - don't offer arbitration. The plan is for Posada to catch and he should be ready for Opening Day. Don't risk Pudge accepting and then being stuck with him and his high salary.
5. Jason Giambi - don't offer arbitration. There really is no room for the Big G. A good OBP guy but the time has come to part ways.
6. Carl Pavano - don't offer arbitration. Do I even have to say why?

The deadline to offer arbitration is a little less than 10 hours from now. We should know more about the Yankees plans sooner than later. Any players offered arbitration have until the 7th to accept. Offering to Mussina is a given. Anything after that is up in the air.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie