More Fraud Sawx Meltdown News? Why Not

Awesome flowchart for determining where to point the finger for the Fraud Sawx collapse.  I got a good laugh from this when I saw it on TYA this morning.

And if you're looking for more Sawxenfreude-related reading, here's Jon Lester basically admitting that he was unprofessional and the team gave up on Francona this year.  I'll give the guy credit for being the first to man up and take responsibility for sucking in September, but to admit that you knowingly took advantage of your manager?  Ouch.

Prioritizing The Offseason To-Do List

(Not exactly what the Yankee list will look like)

2011 is finally put to bed after my incredible series of Season Review posts last week, which means now it's time to really, really, REALLY look towards 2012.  And in looking towards 2012, you can see that there's a lot that needs to be done before the Yankees report to Tampa for Spring Training.  This is nothing new for the Yankees, but I wouldn't mind seeing things done in a particular order this year.  Here's the order in which I'd like to see those things get done to maximize the Yankees' offseason efficiency:

1) Get Cash's New Deal Done

Whether you like all of his moves or not, and whether you like the way he handles things in the media nowadays, there's no denying that Cash has done a damn good job of rebuilding this team at all levels since being given "full autonomy" a few years back while still keeping them at the top of the competitive heap.  2011 was no exception, and if you just compare the handful of moves that Cash made (Garcia, Colon, Jones, Chavez) to the one move he didn't support but ownership approved (Soriano), it's clear that he's the right guy for the job moving forward.  He knows the team, he knows the players, he knows how to find value, and he's been around long enough to be able to handle all the extra BS that comes with holding a high-profile position in NY.  Unless people want to see Randy Levine making more decisions, they should be praying to whatever God they believe in every night before bed that Cash gets a new deal and gets it soon. 

2) Re-sign CC

There has already been plenty of talk around the Yankosphere about the CC situation, and most everybody agrees that CC is a MUST re-sign for the Yanks if he chooses to opt out.  I don't see anybody offering the money or the years that the Yankees can, despite talks of Texas being a big player, but I wouldn't throw the whole world at him right off the bat.  Go 5 years/$130 mil and put the ball in CC's court to have him back up all his "I love NYC" talk and see where it goes from there.  In the end, though, the Yankees almost have to beat any other offer that comes for the big guy, because he's far better than anything available this offseason and probably in the 2012 offseason as well.