Possible Non-Tender Targets

(I could dig this guy.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Friday night's non-tender deadline has come and past, with not a whole lot of surprises or drama.  The Yankees, as expected, tendered contracts to all 5 of their Major League regulars who were arbitration eligible and also offered a deal to Jayson Nix, who was then designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Mariano Rivera after agreeing to a Triple-A assignment and invite to camp if he cleared waivers.

But that still leaves the open spots in right field and now catcher for 2013, as well as a pretty empty bench right now, and there were some players who were non-tendered by their clubs who could be viable fill-in options as part of the "1-year only" plan to build next season's roster.  After the jump, the 5 players who the Yankees could take a look at.

Derek Jeter 10, NY Post 1

So The NY Post had a little fun with The Captain this week, posting a picture of him looking a little soggier around the midsection than usual with the caption "Derek Eater."  OK, the name is pretty clever, but was it really that slow a news day that they couldn't have put something else on there??  You really had to go after The Captain?  The guy's in a freakin' walking boot, for crying out loud!  Kinda tough to get your cardio in that situation.  And if you really want to go to the scoreboard, we can do that:

1) Minka Kelly
2) Gabrielle Union
3) Jessica Biel
4) Adriana Lima
5) Vida Guerra
6) Scarlett Johansson
7) Jessica Alba
8) Jordana Brewster
9) Lara Dutta
10) Mariah Carey

All chicks who were in the prime of their hotness and became more famous for dating Jeter.  There's a reason the most viewed post in AB4AR history is the one comparing Derek Jeter to a pimp.  That's because everybody recognizes how awesome he is and women are powerless to stop said awesomeness.  Jeter's probably fat right now because he's done nothing by lay around and have Hannah Davis feed him by hand for the past month and a half, and that's baller.  Now hit the music!

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 11/30

I got roped into going with a group of people from work to look at possible new office furniture and paint and carpeting and stuff.  Apparently it's been decided that our office looks old and outdated, which is true, and it's time to brighten things up.  Admittedly none of that type of stuff matters to me.  I couldn't tell you what color the carpeting or the walls in my building even are.  I could work on a beanbag chair and a rickety folding card table, so don't ask how it was decided that I was a valuable member to have on this refurbishing team, but at least I got a free lunch out of it.

The best part of the whole thing was listening to some of the higher-ups talk about how this had to be pitched to our CFO and how likely he was to shoot it down.  One of them said, "he's going to see that it's a need, but not a need that he's willing to spend that much on."  You know, like a starting catcher.

RIMSHOT!!!!

Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Mike Eder of TYA weighed the option of trading Robinson Cano, and used some future WAR calculations to make a decision on whether or not it would be a smart move for the Yankees.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible looked back at the bad Yankee drafts of 2007-2009 and their connection to the upcoming payroll cuts.

- Jonah Keri of Grantland posted his two-part list of the Top 50 MLB trade value rankings (Part I, Part II).  I'm not a big Grantland guy, but I used to like when Simmons did this with the NBA and Keri knows his stuff, so it's definitely worth a look.

- On Tuesday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled his breakout prospect candidate for 2013, Low-A Charleston outfielder Ben Gamel.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes liked the idea of Shane Victorino as a Yankee, an opinion decidedly opposite of mine.

- On Wednesday, Mike Axisa of RAB looked past tonight's midnight non-tender deadline to see which non-tender candidates could be good fits for the Yankees if they became free agents.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog did some serious number crunching to show the financial benefits of the Yankees' planned payroll cap and some different scenarios that lead to different levels of savings.

- El duque of It Is High... came up with an interesting idea for a Curtis Granderson trade partner, if the Yankees are entertaining the idea of trading him.

- On Thursday, Brien Jackson of IIATMS offered up his simple solution for how to fix the Hall of Fame.  Hint- it has nothing to do with steroids.

- Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard predicted what roster spots the Yankees would focus on when Cash heads to the Winter Meetings next week.

- Roberto E. Alejandro of Respect Jeter's Gangster came up with a good idea for a new owner, one who would be willing to match a 2-year/$17 million offer, if Hank and Hal were interested in selling.

- On Friday, Delia E. of Yankees Fans Unite correctly pointed out that Cash will head to the Winter Meetings next week with more to do now that the Yankees have let Russell Martin go.

- Jesse Schindler of Bleeding Yankee Blue already identified his ideal trade target to replace Martin.

For this week's Friday Jam I'm kicking it with some Black Keys, old Black Keys, before they were "cool" enough to play on Jimmy Fallon's late night show.  It's not that I think newer Black Keys isn't good, but I prefer the older, grimier stuff.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

How Will Losing Russell Martin Change The Yanks' Winter Meetings Plans?

(Congratulations, Hal.  You've successfully handcuffed your GM before the most important part of the offseason)

The Winter Meetings were already going to be a little different for the Yankees this year than in years past. With their plans to get below the self-imposed payroll ceiling becoming more real, and their early offseason actions being more strongly geared towards that one goal than ever, the days of the big, bad Yankees breezing into Nashville and stirring things up with their rumored connections to all the big names appear to be over, at least for the next couple offseasons. But with last night’s bombshell of Russell Martin signing with the Pirates, the entire landscape of the remainder of this offseason has shifted dramatically for the Yanks. While they did make very good progress in reloading the pitching staff, there are still a lot of gaping holes in the lineup and fewer quality players with which to plug them. I think the Yankees always anticipated that they’d be able to re-sign Martin, and now Cash will have to adjust his whole approach to next week’s meetings to cover for the loss.

Russell Martin Thoughts & Afterthoughts

(We'll be seein' ya, dude.  Courtesy of the AP)

Well that was an interesting turn of events last night, wasn't it?  Less than a week after it was reported that he was "willing to wait" for the Yankees to make him an offer before looking at other teams, Russell Martin signed a 2-year/$17 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were only introduced as a serious candidate for his services earlier this week.  The bulk of the talks involved bigger-spending teams like the Yankees and Rangers, but shockingly enough it was Pittsburgh who swooped in and got the job done.

Even more shocking were the multiple reports from Yankee beat writers that the Bombers didn't even make a contract offer to Martin, who was easily the best all-around catcher available on the market.  The internal crop of Yankee catching options was and still is woefully thin on depth and talent, and the Yankees had to be keenly aware that the rest of the available free agent pool was very shallow, and yet they still chose to put re-signing Martin off to hammer out deals with guys like Pettitte and Mo who were never going to play anywhere else but New York next season.  It's a very puzzling strategy and move by the Yankees, one that I'm still having a hard time formulating a complete response to.  So in classic AB4AR fashion, I'll just throw it all out there in some bullet points.

DOUBLE BREAKING NEWS: Pirates Sign Russell Martin

Well how about that?  I thought it was just early rumors, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Russell Martin.  There are no known contract terms at this time, but Rosenthal is pretty good with this stuff.  Looks like the Yankees are going to have to find themselves a catcher.  More on this story to come...

** UPDATE- 7:53 PM- David Waldstein reporting that it's only a 2-year/$17 million deal.  You've got to be kidding me. **

** UPDATE- 7:56 PM- Heyman saying the Yankees offered 2/$12-14 mil.  They must know something we don't. **

** UPDATE- 8:12 PM- Erik Boland reporting that a "source" said the Yankees never made an offer to Martin, which is the complete opposite of what Heyman said.  What the hell is going on?? **

** UPDATE 8:14 PM- And Buster Olney confirms that.  Wow. **

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Mariano Rivera

(The G.O.A.T.)

And Operation Old Guys is complete.  A day after the Yankees re-signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year deal, they followed that up by officially re-signing Mariano Rivera.

Jon Heyman first reported the deal, which will be for a base salary of $10 million, $2 million less than Pettitte got.  Dan Barbarisi reported that the deal does include award bonuses, with rumors of them being near $5 million.  Mo will get another chance to retire on his terms.

For the Yankees, this all but completes their 2012 bullpen.  They'll need a long man, but will have plenty of options for that spot.  There's no guarantee that he'll be as dominant as he's always been, but based just on the numbers, you have to somewhat expect Mo will at least be good.

For the fans, this is another opportunity to watch the greatest closer in the history of baseball one more time. I promised myself if he came back I was going to make sure to go to a game next season to watch him one more time and now I have my chance.  Time to start scouting the schedule...

Any Innings Concerns For 2013?

The 2013 New York Yankees starting rotation is set right now after yesterday's re-signing of Andy Pettitte was made official.  At worst, the rotation should be pretty good again next season and at best it could be very good if everybody stays healthy and a few things rebound from 2012.  Not to rain on anybody's parade or start to poke holes in this group, but it is worth pointing out that there will be a lot of workload questions tied to next year's rotation.

CC Sabathia- Coming off a season in which he had 2 separate stints on the DL, and already has plans being made to limit his innings/pitch count next season.

Hiroki Kuroda- Coming off a career high 235.2 IP between the regular and postseasons in 2012 at age 37.  Unknown how that extra work will carry over and affect him in 2013.

Pettitte- Pitched just 89 total Major League innings last season, and has pitched just 106 total innings in the last 2 calendar years.  Unknown how many innings he can pitch over a full season.

Phil Hughes- Coming off a career high 201 total IP between regular and postseasons in 2012 a year after pitching just 91 total innings and 2 years after pitching 192 total innings, and after years of being shuttled between starter and reliever.

The only guy in this group without innings concerns is Ivan Nova, who was the least effective starting pitcher in the rotation last season.  It's not time to raise the red flag on this or anything, just something to keep in mind going in ST next year.

Why Do I Not Like Shane Victorino?

(Double-ear flaps. So stupid. GAH!!!  Courtesy of the AP)

In addition to muddying the waters of the Russell Martin contract situation, Jon Heyman also listed the Yankees as one of several teams interested in free agent outfielder Shane Victorino. Victorino, 32, is coming off a down year that saw him traded from his longtime team in Philadelphia out to Cali to finish the season with the payroll-bloated Dodgers. I’m just going to get right to the point and say that I want absolutely no part of Shane Victorino on the 2013 Yankees. And here’s the kicker, I have absolutely no reason why. I’m not sure what it is about him, because it’s not like he’s a shitty baseball player, but I’ve just never been much of a Shane Victorino guy. It’s completely irrational and I’m the first one to admit it, because Victorino could actually be a good fit for the Yankees.

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Andy Pettitte

(One more year of the stare)

After an acceleration to the re-signing process earlier this week, and multiple reports that a new deal was imminent yesterday, the Yankees officially re-signed Andy Pettitte this afternoon, completing part 2 of their offseason checklist.

According to multiple reporters, the deal is of the 1-year variety and will be for $12 million next season, with another $2.5 mil available in awards bonuses.  It's a hefty raise from the non-guaranteed $2.5 million Andy signed for when he came back this past season, but after the way he pitched a big hike in salary was to be expected.

With this move, the Yankees now have a rotation set for 2013- CC, Kuroda, Andy, Hughes, Nova- with a couple other arms outside that top 5 as insurance and the always-lingering possibility of them signing a cheap veteran arm here or there.  Andy coming back does give Cash the flexibility to include Hughes or Nova in a trade package if he pursues that route to fill the right field void, but even if nothing else happens with the rotation this offseason, the Yankees can go into Opening Day confident that their rotation is set.

**UPDATE- 3:29PM- Eli Whiteside has been DFA'd to clear a 40-man roster spot for Andy.  So that's why they signed Whitesite to a split-contract.  Smart move. **

Who Wants To Get Non-Tenderized?

See what I did there?  That's wordplay.  It's not all fun and games and re-signing 40-something pitchers and finding a right fielder this offseason.  The Yankees do have some other things on their plate that they'll have to address, one of them coming up very soon.  The non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players is this Friday at midnight, and the Yankees have a group of 6 eligible players left waiting to learn their fate (David Herndon and Eli Whiteside both signed small deals already).

None of these guys have really gotten much ink in the hot stove press so far this offseason, at least not on this blog, and there's a pretty simple reason for that.  Nobody expects that the collection of Phil Hughes, David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Joba Chamberlain, or Boone Logan are going to be non-tendered.  They'll all get new contracts for 2013 through arbitration and return as part of the 25-man roster next season, although there has been some talk of trading Logan coming off a heavy workload around the blogopshere and that's an idea I would entertain.

The one guy who's up in the air is Jayson Nix, do-all utility infielder and part-time emergency outfielder who notched a hair over 200 PA in pinstripes this season as an injury fill-in.  Nix proved valuable as a defensive upgrade at shortstop over Eduardo Nunez, and he's not a complete waste of space with the bat, but a .304 wOBA and 88 wRC+ with a low BB rate doesn't exactly scream to have an offer made to it.  That being said, the Yankees are light on useful infield pieces right now and are going to need extra help to cover for the advancing age and injury comebacks on the left side.

Nix is projected to make less than $1 million, chump change for the Yankees, but that would still be more money than they're paying Nunez right now.  And with the team doing everything in its power to pinch pennies in preparation for the 2014 payroll cap, they could decide that a little bit extra saved is more beneficial than having Nix around.  There's no guarantee the Yankees can find a suitable replacement, either internally that's as solid defensively as Nix or externally that's cheaper, so it will be worth paying attention to what happens with him come Friday at midnight.

2012 Statistical Trends: Robinson Cano's Hitting Against LHP

(Looks like a GB out reaction to me.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

In hopes that this will become a running series for the rest of the offseason, I want to take a look at some of the big statistical surprises from the season that was.  There was a large handful of significant statistical shifts this season, some good and some bad, and I want to try to figure out what caused them, what they mean, and what to expect moving forward.  For the first installment, I want to investigate Robinson Cano's awful year against left-handed pitching.  It's almost crazy to think of a hitter of Cano's caliber as a platoon bat, but that's just what he was this year.

Cano finished the 2012 season with a career .290/.338/.453 line against LHP (.344 wOBA), and that's after the down year he had this season.  Entering 2012, Cano was coming off a season in which he hit .314/.354/.525 against lefties, a result we've become accustomed to seeing from Robbie and the type of L-on-L production that makes him one of the best all-around hitters in the game.  In 2012 something changed, and Robbie struggled mightily against lefties to the tune of .239/.309/.337 (.290 wOBA) in 269 plate appearances.  He still drew a fair amount of walks, for him at least, against southpaws.  But the drop in batting average and power was significant, and something that could potentially raise a red flag given Robbie's pending free agency.

Now The Offseason Wheels Are Turning

Looks like the front office is finally picking up steam after their slow start to the offseason.  Hiroki Kuroda re-signed last week, and that got the ball rolling, and now there's a rash of reporter activity today talking about pending deals and player interest.  Here's the latest:

- Buster Olney got things started this morning with a report that not only was a deal between Andy Pettitte and the Yanks close, but that it will end up at or near the $11 million mark.

- Olney also said Russell Martin, despite recent reports that he was willing to wait for the Yankees to make an offer, has visited "multiple cities" to gauge interest in other teams, according to his agent.

- Ken Rosenthal reported that the Yankees were also "optimistic" about getting a deal done with Mariano Rivera this week, likely at a dollar amount higher than Pettitte's $11 mil.

- Joel Sherman shot down rumors that the Yanks and Ichiro had agreed to a 1-year/$5 mil deal, saying there are "no serious talks ongoing."

Obviously getting Pettitte and Mo locked in this week would be a huge leap forward in their offseason progress, and more than likely speed up the talks with Martin.  Stay tuned...

Andy Starts Offseason Workouts

The next, and possibly final, piece of the 2013 rotation puzzle may be starting to get put into place.  At least that's how a positive-thinking person would take Mark Feinsand's report Sunday about Andy Pettitte starting his offseason workout program as a test to see how his body responds and see if he thinks it will hold up for another season.  After the earlier report that Pettitte would make his decision sometime this week, this latest news makes it look more like we're going to see the lefty back in pinstripes for one more season.  There's no guarantee, but there are 2 big things to take away from this:

Russell Martin Joins The Waiting Game

(Pictured: Not Russell or Ichiro)

Well it looks like Ichiro isn't alone in holding out for the tall, handsome Yankees to ask him to dance before settling on another suitor.  George King of The Post had the deets on Russell Martin also being sweet on the Yankees and reportedly being willing to wait his turn for a contract offer while they sort through things with Mo and Andy before pursuing other options.

2012 AB4AR Season Review: The Minor League Awards

I swear I'm not doing this on purpose.  I know I've already promised that the 2012 Season Review series was over like 45 times by now, but it dawned on me this morning on my ride to the airport that while I managed to hand out all my end-of-season awards to the Major League team (and do it quite well, I might add), I neglected to dish out those same awards for the Minor Leagues.  I guess subconsciously I didn't want to do the MiL awards because it was such a rough season for the Yankee system, but it wasn't all doom and gloom.  A lot of less heralded guys put good years together, and the young A-ball core was dynamite across the board.  So without further ado, and for realsies this is the final 2012 season review post, here are the AB4AR 2012 Minor League award winners.

Pineda Continuing To Progress

(When is somebody going to get a shot of one of Pineda's flat ground sessions?  Courtesy of the AP)

Michael Pineda still has a long uphill battle to fight to get back on the field, back to full or as close to full game shape as he can be after his labrum injury, and back into the good graces of the Yankee fan base, but the updates on his comeback progress continue to be positive.  Brian Heyman of LoHud had the latest details on Friday, including information on Pineda's latest follow-up visit with team doctors, confirmation that he's been on his flat ground throwing program for about 2 months now, and a quote from Brian Cashman on Pineda's arm action in the throwing session looking good and that "he’s in great physical shape in terms of body weight."

All of those are positives for Pineda, who got himself in trouble early in ST last season for reportedly coming into camp in less-than-ideal physical condition.  But has this latest round of updates changed the planned return timetable for him?

The Reality Of Ichiro

It's no secret that I'm not on the "Yankees should bring back Ichiro" bandwagon.  I think he's a fraction of the player he used to be in his prime; I think the .322/.340/.454 tripleslash he put up in a third of a season's worth of plate appearances with the Yankees is not nearly as true an indicator of his current talent level as the results he put up in the previous season and two-thirds worth; and I think if they made slightly more of an effort than they have so far, the Yankees could find a much better all-around option for a starting right fielder next season.  I also think the Yankees are pretty set in their way for how they're going about this offseason and I think Ichiro's performance in a Yankee uniform this season did enough to put him on their radar for 2013.  And the more time that passes this offseason, the more I think Ichiro becomes a fit for what the Yankees are looking for.

Friday Afternoon "Happy Thanksgiving Weekend" Linkapalooza: 11/23

Black Friday is one of the stupidest concepts ever, and I cringe every year watching videos and stories of all the people who wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go to the mall or worse, camped out the night before outside of Best Buy or something just to get a good deal on an off-brand TV.  I have much bigger and better plans today, embarking on my yearly Thanksgiving vacation trip into the city with my 2 best friends.  Unfortunately, due to the NHL lockout we won't get to go to our usual Ranger game, but we audibled nicely and scooped up some tickets to the Nets-Clips game at the Barclays Center tonight.  Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is a nice substitute for Ranger hockey.  We're also upping the ante this year by bringing our dads with us, so it will be fun to see how long they can hang drinking with us all day.  No matter what happens, it's going to be infinitely more fun than going Black Friday shopping, and if you're out there doing that I feel very sorry for you.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, EJ Fagan of TYA graphically illustrated how the Yankees' competitive payroll advantage has dwindled over the past 10+ years.  As previously discussed, this issue becomes magnified this offseason with ownership's new penny-pinching ways.

- Andrew Mearns of Pinstriped Bible continued his series of all-time best underrated seasons in Yankee history with his selections for the outfield and pitchers.

- On Tuesday, Alex Belth of Bronx Banter posed an interesting question about the Yankees' "Evil Empire" status now that they've paired up with News Corp.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog compared the YES-News Corp. deal to the recent similar move made by Toronto and what those moves could mean for each team.

- Bronx Goblin listed the top 10 ways to know you're a crummy Yankee fan.  Proud to say that none of those 10 things apply to me.

- George S of Gutty Gritty Yankees used the early 2013 Marcel projections to show that letting Nick Swisher walk is still a huge mistake.

- Rob Abbruzese of Bronx Baseball Daily offered up his personal take on the Yankees-News Corp.-payroll ceiling situation.

- On Wednesday, Mike Axisa of RAB discussed the idea of trading Curtis Granderson in the face of this year's early free agent trends.  It's certainly an idea worth considering.

- Brian Heyman of LoHud got some thoughts from Cash on the Blue Jays' string of big moves this offseason.

- Brien Jackson of IIATMS pointed out the importance of the Hiroki Kuroda re-signing in terms of solidifying next season's rotation.

- On Thursday, Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard questioned whether making an all-out effort to get below the luxury tax threshold in 2014 is even necessary.

For this week's jam I'm keeping with the theme of our trip today and giving a shout out to Brooklyn with some old school Jay-Z.  I haven't been able to get his people to call my people back about meeting up at the game tonight, but I'm sure he got my calls.



Enjoy your weekends and all the leftover turkey, everybody.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody

Today I'm thankful that I have a ton of great food to eat, a ton of great beer to drink, and my family and best friend to share it all with.  I certainly hope that's the case for everybody else out there as well because Thanksgiving is hands down the best holiday and it's not even close.  It's the Mariano Rivera of holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.  May your celebration today be safe, fun, and filled with good memories.

Progress On The Offseason To-Do List

($15 million would bring a smile to your face too.  Courtesy of the AP)

He's another old guy, but he's a productive one and one who actually made sense to bring back, so Hiroki Kuroda re-upping for another year yesterday was a positive first step for the Yankees yesterday after an early offseason of mostly inactivity.  There's still a lot to be done, and still plenty of opportunities for people like me to complain about them only targeting guys 35 and over, but Kuroda was the most important player to bring back and now that's been done.  Hopefully this a sign that Cash is going to start moving and shaking a little more heading into the Winter Meetings, and he's still got plenty of time before then to work out new deals with Mo and Andy and free up his time at the meetings for perusing the trade market.  By my count, here's how the updated to-do list should look:

Mo Back On The Mound

Well, sort of.  It wasn't even close to a game situation, and I'm sure he wasn't painting the inside corner with the cutter there, but at least it's something.  He had to be pushing off in some capacity to shoot this ad, so that's a good sign for the health and progress of Mo's knee as he gets ready to come back next season.

It's easy to forget that Mo is still not officially a Yankee.  As we live and breathe right now, he's still technically a free agent, although the situation is an obvious "Yankees or nobody" one for the G.O.A.T.  We were told a few weeks ago that the re-signing process would be a quick one after he formally declared that he wanted to come back, but so far no progress has been made outside of the Yankees stating that their offer would include a paycut.  You have to think with Hiroki Kuroda re-signing late yesterday that getting Mo to do the same is the next on Cash's to-do list.

P.S.- Definitely just put that cologne on my Christmas list.  Always good to smell like a champion, right?

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Hiroki Kuroda

There aren't any details on the money yet, but the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda have reportedly agreed to a new 1-year deal.  Normally I'd wait to get a few more details before posting, but when the tweet confirming the deal is coming from Buster Olney, that's good enough for me.

Kuroda was always the top priority this offseason, and it's good that this has now been resolved.  There's still a lot of work to do, but at least there's one space we can fill in on the open roster card for next season.  More details to come...

** UPDATE- 6:43PM- The deal is worth $15 million for next season, with a little less than $1 mil worth of incentives.  Sounds like a good deal for both sides.  Yanks and Kuroda both get the 1-year deal they wanted, and Hirok gets the raise he deserved and earned with his 2012 performance. **

Billions Of Dollars, Billions Of Dollars...

(Relevant)

That's what the Yankees are worth.  Forbes magazine's annual list of the most valuable sports franchises from June of this year had the Yankees tied for 3rd with the Dallas Cowboys at an estimated $1.85 billion.  The YES Network is worth even more than that, an estimated $3 billion according to recent reports, and that number stands to go up in the years to come with News Corp. in line to purchase a 49% stake in the network.  While that deal shouldn't and in all likelihood won't affect the way things are run on the baseball side of the organization, part of me can't help but try to connect this move clearly designed to make more money with the baseball side's efforts to cut costs this and next offseason.

Situation Heating Up With Ibanez

I'll just make this quick to try to avoid it veering off into another talk about roster rigidity and an older-than-dirt team actively seeking to make itself older.

According to Ken Davidoff, the Yankees have progressed from the "preliminary discussions" portion of their offseason courting process to the "significant interest" stage with respect to re-signing Raul Ibanez.  Ibanez hit .240/.308/.453 last season, and punctuated his first season in pinstripes with some of the most dramatic home runs in a long time.  His first-ballot election into the "True Yankee" club notwithstanding, Ibanez would be best as the DH-only bench piece he was supposed to be this season.  If the Yankees are interested in him being any more than that, then actively pursuing him this early in the offseason is probably a mistake.