Angels to match Yanks?

John Perrotto thinks that the Angels may be willing to match the Yankees offer of 140 million dollars for C.C. Sabathia. If this happens I doubt we will be seeing Sabathia in pinstripes. He loves California and if the money is equal he`ll jump for the chance to play near home.

If this happens should the Yankees go higher? How much? And should they then turn their focus to Peavy or just settle for Lowe/Burnett/Sheets?

Third Peavy Team?

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The latest rumor in the Jake Peavy sweapstakes is that Kevin Towers has found a third team to work with the Cubs and Padres on the Peavy trade. This probably isn't true, and if you`re not interested in pointless speculation on pointless speculation you should probably skip this post, on the other hand you then probably have no interest in the Hot Stove either.

Earlier I suggested Derrek Lee as an attractive trade option. Now we know that the Cubs are looking for ML ready pitching prospects. They also seem willing to deal Lee. Maybe Kennedy/Aceves+Coke+Matsui would get it done with the Yankees eating some of Matsui's salary for 2009. Then they send Kennedy/Aceves and Coke along with all the other prospects which were rumored for Peavy. Matsui can fill the void Lee would leave to some extent. Lee is an excellent first baseman as well as a good hitter. Then Swisher can move to LF or RF where he is excellent. If they want they can get into the Dunn/Texiera/Ramirez bidding as well and have Swisher and Damon split time in center.

Without Joba....

While reading the latest post on Pete Abraham's blog where he ranks the Yankees players in order of importance it ocurred to me exactly how important Joba Chamberlain has become to the future of the Yankees.

Of the trio of Yankees rookies who were expected to be big members of the rotation last year, only Joba had a succesful year. He showed everybody that he could start as well as relieve and at least temporarily shut up those who wanted him in the bullpen. He evolved into the ace of the Yankees (yes even more so than Moose for a while) when Wang went down and seemed to keep the team afloat. The Yankees are banking on him in 2009 to be a major part of the rotation, albeit with an innings limit, and really the future of their franchise.

Much of the same can be said for Hughes. However, because of his awful, injury plagued year last year, much of the attention and pressure has been diverted to Joba. If the Yankees are careful with him and Joba stays on track, then he may become one of those rare, true aces in baseball. However, if he comes crashing down to earth then the Yankees are going to be in deep trouble. Its a lot of pressure to put on a 22 year old but without Joba you can expect quite a few more quiet Octobers in the Bronx.

Pettitte to Dodgers?

By now I`m sure you`ve heard that Pettitte's been talking to Torre and that ned Colletti is may have interest in him. I`m really skeptical of this. The Dodgers wouldn't even re-sign their own guy in Lowe who was much better last year than Pettitte, no way they`re going to give Pettitte what he`s looking for. I think Pettitte's just trying to gain some bargaining power with the Yankees.

That said, the Yankees do have to get a deal done with him soon . This could become serious if the Yankees don't a deal done with him soon. Houston is also still lurking out there. Maybe offer 11-12 million for 2009 with a player option for 2010 for about the same amount figuring that if Pettitte can't pitch he`s not going to want to stick around anyway.

Happy Thanskgiving Guys

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Buy Low on Millwood

Theirs been plenty of rumors going around about Rangers starters Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla. Both have posted high ERA's the past two years though and have drawn little interest. Padilla just isn't very good but I think Millwood might be a good opportunity for the Yankees to buy low on a solid, back of the rotation innings eater rather than hand out a huge deal to Burnett, or even Lowe if his price gets to high.

At first glance, Millwood looks like a guy who hit an early and steep decline. It looks worse when you realize that the Rangers owe him 11 million for 2009 and if he hits 180 innings then his 12 million dollar option for 2010 would become guarenteed. In a trade the Rangers would probably pick up a portion of this.

However, a closer look at his periphereals reveals a pretty solid pitcher. Over the past three years his BABIP has increased every year. In 2006 it was a slightly unlucky .313. After that it got much more extreme. In 2007 it was .348 and, finally, last year it become incredible .366. His FIP's over this time were 3.87, 4.55, and 4.02. His IP totals were 215, 172.2, and 168.2 which isn't fantastic but certainly better than Burnett, Penny, or Sheets who may be the backup plans for free agency if they fail to sign Lowe or Sabathia. If the Yankees are looking for an innings eater at the back of the rotation by the end of the offseason, they should definitely take a look at Kevin Millwood for 2 years.

Yankees Announce Spring Training Stuff

With only 3 months left until spring training the Yankees release a little bit of news of what they have in store for the wonderful preseason.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees are keeping Spring Training ticket prices at their 2008 levels.
Tickets for games at newly renamed Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., will cost $17-31, the team said Tuesday.
New York opens Spring Training on Feb. 25 against Toronto at Dunedin, then starts the 18-game home portion of its schedule the following day against Tampa Bay. The Yankees said it was the earliest start to their Spring Training schedule in at least 60 years.

Included in the home schedule are exhibitions against the United States (March 3) and Canada (March 5) ahead of the World Baseball Classic. At the start of the initial tournament, in 2006, the Yankees briefly posted a sign at their Spring Training home, saying they "did not vote to support this e

vent" and "we are sorry that certain players will not be present for portions of Spring Training."
Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13, with the first workout the next day. The spring training schedule ends April 3-4 against the Chicago Cubs with the first exhibitions at the new Yankee Stadium. The first regular-season game at the $1.3 billion ballpark is scheduled for April 16 against Cleveland. source

George is looking forward to kickin it in "Steinbrenner Field"

Brad Penny

One of the most overlooked free agents pitchers this year has been Brad Penny. He had a terrible, injury plagued year last year but may be a bargain for whoever signs him if he return to form.

On top of this the Dodgers just turned down a one year, 9 million dollar option for him. It wouldn't take much to sign him. Perhaps 2 years at about 5-6 million with an option for a third year.

Rather than handing a 4-5 year deal to Burnett I`d greatly prefer Penny. If it takes 4 years to entice Lowe then Penny may also be better than him. If they choose to sign Penny as their second pitcher, it also would free up enough money for them to sign Texiera or Dunn for first base and move Swisher to centerfield. If you had a choice between Penny, Swisher in center and Texiera/Dunn at first or Burnett/Lowe, Gardner in center, and Swisher at first I might have to go with the first one. While its critical to have a good rotation, its important not to get stupid.

Yankees News and Notes

Alright this is my first post from my iPhone so cut me some slack.

Moose has decided to go out on top and retire after his first career 20 win season. Mussina was the only pitcher who really pulled threw last year; even though he is a cranky old guy we will still miss him.

In other news Bobby Abreu was reportedly offered arbritration by the Yankees. This is a smart move, Abreu will say no and we will get the draft picks.

The Yankees are really in the market for pitching right now but a lot of sports writers think Lowe and Burnett will go elsewhere. To me that thought is crazy. The Yankees rotation right now is Wang, Joba, Hughes, IPK and Aceves. Sounds a little inexperenced doesn't it? The Yankees are going to do everything they can to get one or both if these guys. So their youngsters can develop and so that they don't have to trade. Even if that means giving Burnett 5 years, which he has clearly made his starting point.

Coco Crisp to Royals

Our good friends up in Boston traded Coco Crisp for Ramon Ramirez from the Royals as you may or may not know.

I really think we need a new centerfielder and this may allow the Royals to trade David DeJesus. Crisp will probably be their starting centerfielder, Jose Gullen will be their left-fielder, Mike Jacobs will play first, and Billy Butler will be their DH. The question is, who plays left? Mark Teahen or David DeJesus? My guess is that one will be traded. The Yankees have a need for a centerfielder and this article suggests that the Royals will be looking for relievers. The Yankees could probably deal away a reliever or two and be fine.

I doubt Marte would be involved in this because he was just signed and he`s a little pricy for the Royals. However, their might be a match here.

Moose Not Done Yet

Here is an email from Moose's agent 

Mike will be making a decision on his intentions shortly. Given the significance of this to Mike, I would hope you can respect his desire to be the author of any such announcement consistent with his own time table. A decision of this magnitude should not be the subject of unconfirmed rumors and speculation. Accordingly, I am not going to make any further comment until Mike has made his final decision.

So is he retired or not?

Coco Crisp Traded to Kansas City: Boston's Black Population Decreases Another 20%

Remember when the Red Sox said that they wouldn't trade Coco Crisp unless they got a nice return? Well, they got Ramon Ramirez. Now, Ramirez is a solid reliever and had a very good year last year, and was once traded by the Yankees for Shawn Chacon, but he is far from what the Sox front office thought Coco could bring back in a deal. The Jacoby Ellsbury era has officially started.

Mussina To Retire

So says Ken Davidoff.....

Mussina in my opinion is a clear hall of famer, especially after the great year he had last year. Although not the answer to Pedro Martinez some fans hoped he would be, he was a great pitcher for the Yankees. He was also earned the only big contract for a pitcher that has worked out reasonably well that I can remember. Good luck to him and his family.

He will be sorely missed on the 2009 team but his decision can hardly be a surprise. You can expect to see an Andy Pettitte deal wrapped up soon.

Computer Troubles

My computer crashed the other day. It was old and bound to happen eventually but until then I won't be posting much. The new one should be coming soon.

Another Yankees v Red Sox Bidding War

Kat O'Brien  has the latest news on A.J. Burnett. The Jays already offered 4 years $54 mill to Burnett. Now the Red Sox and Yankees are going to bid against each other for this injury bound lefty. The Yankees are expected to make an opening bid of at most 4 years 80 million.

Now this just seems silly to me. This guy, Burnett, averages less than 150 innings per season over the last 9 years. Shesh, it seems to me if we sign him, The Yankees would be paying a buttload of money for a guy to sit on the DL. He does have ace material but the injuries just bring him down. He is already 32 extending any pitcher this age for 4 more years is nuts. I'm with on this one:

The Votes Are In...

OK, so we set up our first (of many!) Chuck Knoblog poll. It has been a while so I thought I would post the results and announce the next poll. Here are the results:

The Question: WHICH FREE AGENTS SHOULD THE YANKEES SIGN?

• CC: 84 Votes (78%)
  
• Sheets: 16 Votes (14%)
  
• Dunn: 12 Votes (11%)
• Texieria: 60 Votes (56%)
• Lowe: 22 Votes (20%)
• Burnett: 38 Votes (35%)

Total Votes: 107

That was a great poll everyone thanks for participating! Now the next poll is up and the question is:

Do you support the signing of Nick Swisher?

Alright the poll is live on the right side of the page. Happy Voting! New Poll is right here>>>

Be sure to vote!