C.C.'s On Board, Who's Next?

The good news is that the Yankees' major, primary off-season target has been acquired. The front office put pitching at a premium and they went out and got a premium pitcher. And as expected the media is nit-picking, negative, and unenthusiastic towards the signing. Is there a journalist you wouldn't enjoy smacking around more than Mike Lupica? It's the day after and all he can say is "Johan's better". What a fucking douchebag.

Watching ESPN has become a rage-inducing pageant of smarmy talking heads shooting down the significance of that type of quality arm atop our rotation. I nearly threw my remote through the screen when Steve Phillips said Sabathia only replaces Mike Mussina. Huh? We didn't have Wang for a big part of the season, you know the 2 time 19 game winner. I don't know why I even expect an objective factual analysis anymore. I guess that's why I do this.

When was the last time the Yankees had a no shit power lefty with a 200 inning guarantee below the age of 30 anyway? Ron Guidry?

While I see the Sabathia signing as a positive, some moves on the horizon do look a tad disconcerting. First and foremost is the emergence of a trade for Mike Cameron. I definitely called this one and the Yankees home site even has a story. In it the Yankees part with Melky Cabrera. I guess that's better than the Dan Graziano piece that expects the deal to include Cabrera and pitching. Anyone who can tell me why we'd part with a switch hitting 23 year old at the league minimum in Melky and pitching for a 36 year old career .250 hitter owed who made 6.4 mill last year in Cameron without using the words "C.C. Sabathia" and "friends" should do so now. I hate this idea. Cameron lacks any upside at this point in his career and while he has 3 gold gloves on his mantle, Melky, to me, was the ultimate 4th outfielder because of his ability to play the 3 OF spots and his big arm. I don't get it, Cameron hit .243 last year. So did Melky, yet he finished his year in Scranton. Looks like you're getting the same guy for a lot more money.

Despite this Cameron mess, A.J. Burnett has emerged as the next big deal acquisition. Reports have it that several Yankee players are urging Burnett to take the reported 5 year $85 million deal the Yankees have on the table. 5 years of Burnett is a little much considering what we just went through with Carl Pavano. I think Ben Sheets at a 2 or 3 year deal is a much more prudent investment. Joba and Wang are young enough to be a part of the rotation for years. You've also got a bunch of young arms in Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, Brackman, and Betances emerging this year or in the coming years. Burnett at 5 and Sabathia at 7 pretty much block a number of these guys' ability to be a part of the rotation -- unless of course we're operating under the assumption that Sabathia bolts in 3 years when the weight of the Zito deal isn't burying the Giants as much. We will see.

Until then, keep checking back. It's obvious the Yankees aren't done yet and both Cameron and Burnett could be on board by noon.

Caution: Hot Stove

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Hot Stove season is in full swing! Let's check in on yesterday's action to see how it all shook out. (I just returned back to work yesterday, so updating my blog may be more erratic than usual. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

There were tons of news items that passed my desk yesterday. Funny thing though, there were just as many retractions to those "news" stories. 'Tis the season for unsubstantiated rumors to get printed. As I said, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

Ken "Scoop" Rosentahl was the first to report yesterday that the Yankees were in discussion yesterday for a Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera swap to the LA Dodgers for Matt Kemp and pitching. This rumor sent my little world into a tizzy. Thoughts of pushing Jeter to 2B and getting a no shit defensive SS like Raphael Furcal or even the slightly available Michael Young were soon dashed as the retraction from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti shot down any meetings, discussions, or even sightings of Yankee higher-ups. Nice one, Ken. NO LINK FOR YOU!

And how could they when they were too busy meeting with C.C. Sabathia and giving him a glimpse at big city life. This was primarily an information gathering session as C.C. no doubt was curious as to what 140 million dollars can buy in the Big Apple. Apparently you can buy a lot as this meeting was roughly 2 and a half hours long. The Yankees and Mr. Sabathia met again later that day and notables in attendance were Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, and Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson. The assumption is that C.C. will ultimately decide his fate sometime soon and either inch closer to putting his name on a Yankee contract or make a lot less money someplace else.

Yesterday, George King reported that Milwaukee was thinking of sweetening the pot and adding more money, another year, and an opt out clause a la A.J. Burnett to land Big C.C. Today though, Mark Feisand has got the inside scoop that the Yankees plan to offer a 2-3 year deal for Ben Sheets. It's going to be hard for C.C. to commit to Milwaukee knowing that his deal pushes any all other talented players Milwaukee has out the door. I don't see C.C. wanting to be the Steve Carlton to the Brewers. Big ups again to the boys at riveraveblues.com for this one, but it's kinda easy to break news when you're in Las Vegas! (Yeah, I'm jealous.)

On the lighter side, Carl Pavano spoke with A.J. Burnett about pitching New York. Surprisingly enough he was trying to sell Burnett on pitching in the Boogie Down Bronx. I can only imagine how this conversation went.

Burnett: Tell me about New York, Carl. Is it where I need to be?
Pavano: Yeah man! It's great! If you get hurt, they just keeping paying you!
Burnett: What about city life? Is it a tough adjustment to the hustle and bustle?
Pavano: What city? Tampa Bay? I love it! Amazing! I spent 3 years there and just hung out and drove my Porsche around. The women are outstanding too. You got a Porsche, A.J.?
Burnett: What? No.
Pavano: Don't get one. They don't handle well in the Tampa rain.

The Yanks do plan to offer up a deal for A.J. today and some think that A.J. could even sign somewhere as early as today. So stay tuned.

And finally, it wouldn't be hot stove season if you didn't have to caution yourself from getting burned. Apparently, Brain Cashman has been in communique with the agents of Andy Pettite through e-mail. He's trying to make the case that a 14-14 record with 4.5 ERA isn't worth 16 mill. I concur. Anyway, the Brothers Hendricks seem to be playing hardball here as rumors are swirling in regards to The Boston Red Sox inquiring about Pettite. Tony Masarotti reports that while it's more a case of the Red Sox just being inquisitive, Pettite's postseason resume speaks for itself and he could be very valuable in the back-end of the rotation for a team with postseason aspirations.

No shit. That's why we want him too. I fucking hate the Red Sox. Unoriginal bastards.