At least we're Yankees fans. I honestly can't imagine being a Mets fan right now. This is in no way a dig at Mets fans. I honestly have no clue how they do it.
some updates (kinda) on the pitching front Yankees GM Cashman eyes starter by new year (Source) With his everyday lineup for 2010 set, Cashman has turned attention to the rotation, and will almost certainly add a starter by New Year's, according to a major league source. Cashman is believed to have inquired about Carlos Zambrano, but with the Cubs' asking price high for the 28-year-old right-hander -- who is coming off an injury-plagued 2009 -- it's more probable the Yankees will go the free-agent route. Cubs source refutes report about talking to Yanks about Zambrano (Source) A New York Post article regarding the Chicago Cubs talking to the New York Yankees about sending Carlos Zambrano to New York for a center fielder is premature. First and foremost, Zambrano has a full no-trade clause in his contract that runs through 2012. Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, said he has not been contacted about a trade. And a Cubs source told ESPNChicago.com there is nothing to the speculation at this point. "I've had zero discussions with the Cubs about a possible trade," Praver said. "I've talked to them on numerous occasions, and the topic has never come up." Secondly, any deal the Cubs would make for a pitcher of Zambrano's caliber would have to include young pitching coming back. The Post reported the Cubs may be interested in either outfielder Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner. That is easy speculation knowing the Cubs are looking for an outfielder, and the Yanks have excess outfield depth after acquiring Curtis Granderson form Detroit. If the Cubs were to trade Zambrano to New York, a pitcher like Phil Hughes and/or Joba Chamberlain would have to be included. More pitching stuff (Source) The Yankees have one more piece to add, and that's a starting pitcher. They know this, by the way. I love all of these media proclamations, "Don't the Yankees realize they need another starting pitcher?!" Yes, they do. My sense is, as aggressive as they were in getting Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and Andy Pettitte on board, they'll go the other direction here. They don't love any of the options out there, so there's no reason to overpay. Instead, they'll see who lingers and lowers his price. Ben Sheets? He's a possibility, but right now, "He's not even on the board," as a person in the Yankees' loop put it, because questions remain about Sheets' health.
The Zambrano talks probably went like this: Chicago: "We're interested in Melky or Gardner" Yankees: "How about in a package for Zambrano?" Chicago: "Nope" End of talks.
haha probably something along those lines.. Duchscherer Update (Source) ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Justin Duchscherer has received contract offers from three unnamed teams, and he expects to decide on his 2010 home within a week.could one of those teams be the Yankees? With the recent "news" of the Yankees wanting to add a starter before the New Year, it could make sense oh, and Jesus Montero is starting the season in AAA. Decent little read can be found here
Interesting... (Source) 8:07pm: Could this be related to what David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote in the comments section of his blog earlier this evening? "Got a call from a NY writer today wanting to know if I?d heard anything heating up between Yankees and Braves?. Apparently Yankees have hinted at doing ?something big? soon. Don?t know if that means pitching". Hard to imagine the Yankees will go another round with Javier Vazquez, but could this mean Derek Lowe? Like Harang, the Yankees could be among the few teams able to take on Lowe's three-year, $45MM deal. 7:49pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets the following: "Yankees working very hard tonight on deal for starting pitcher. Remember that they came close to deal for Aaron Harang in summer". If Harang is indeed the target, the Yankees could be one of the few teams that could afford him. Harang is due $12.5MM in 2010, with a $12.75MM team option for 2011 (and more likely, a $2MM buyout). Harang pitched to a 4.21 ERA in 162 1/3 innings with Cincinnati in 2009, though his peripherals- 142 strikeouts, 43 walks- were strong. With Andy Pettitte, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett all under contract for 2010- acquiring Harang would likely spell the end of either Philip Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in the 2010 rotation plans.
new update, same link 9:11pm: Now Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yankees are "close to a deal for a starting pitcher, says a source. Still working on who, but I'm told it's not a salary dump deal". 8:55pm: Now Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets "Hear that #Yankees have "two or three" serious trade talks for starting pitcher - A. Harang isn't one of them." FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal adds via Twitter "Source: Yankees in "active negotiations" for a starting pitcher. Not Harang. Trying to find out who.
DUDES! They just traded Swisher and Joba for Felix Hernandez!! HOLY SHIT! Link ETA: Oh, wait... you guys have a fake news rule, don't you. Yeah. Alright. In case you couldn't figure it out without this edit, the above rumor is not true.
Haha you just gave me a goddamn heart attack! I'd be pissed if they acquired Harang...that overpaid homerun machine doesn't exactly translate well to the AL East, much less Yankee Stadium. I hope they're chasing Javy Vazquez. I always thought we ran him out of town too fast (on the plus side, it appears that Mel Stottlemeyer did not in fact ruin his career.) If not Vazquez, I could live with Carlos Zambrano. If Brian Cashman really does control the universe, maybe he pried Josh Johnson away from Florida. Just please, please God don't let the Yankees have done something stupid like picked up Jeremy Bonderman.
Haha...hilarious if true (and I predicted it last week)..how Cashman like. Vazquez back to NY (but as they say, he's better now...lol) http://bases.nbcsports.com/2009/12/the-yankees-are-about-to-land-a-pitcher.html.php
As much as I'd like to be able to say he didn't get me, yeah, my heart jumped. I was thinking "No F'ing way! Really?!" Then it was, no...not really. :sad: Nice one Cappy. :up: I'm not familiar with the guy, but looking at his ERA coupled with his price tag I'm thinking, yeah, uh, no... I feel the same. I always regretted it watching him perform well the past few years. I wouldn't mind bringing him back. Definitely not a bad back-of-rotation guy at all. ------------------ In other Yankees news, I saw on the news this morning that the Yankees paid $25M in luxury tax this year, and were the only team that had to pay.
^Yeah that was kinda funny (about the luxury tax). I'm sure the Steinbrenners don't mind cus the Yankees were also the only team to win the World Series. And nice prank Cappy lol
Vasquez is coming back and Melky goes to ATL. According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Braves are prepared to send Javier Vazquez and LHP Boone Logan to the Yankees for outfielder Melky Cabrera, LHP Mike Dunn and a prospect. The unnamed "prospect" may be RHP Arodys Vizcaino, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In one fell swoop, the Yanks have acquired an excellent starter and freed up a spot in their outfield for a top free agent. Logan, 24, had a 5.19 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 17 1/3 innings for the Braves this season. Dunn, who's also 24 and is headed to Atlanta, posted a 3.31 ERA and 1.41 WHIP between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cabrera, 25, hit .274/.336/.416 in 2009 with 13 home runs, 28 doubles, 10 stolen bases and 68 RBI in 485 at-bats. Dec. 22 - 9:39 am et Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter
I like it. Vizcaino is a really good pitching prospect but Vazquez is a very solid middle of the rotation pitcher. Will be interesting to see what they do with LF now.
