On the Yankees beat

Hank is showing he's "got a pair" with his responce to the entire A-OPT situation. It's nice hearing someone in mgt. stressing that playing for the Yanks is a "priviledge", and not wanting anybody playing on the Yanks that doesn't want to be here. This "tone", has gotta make Girardi smile.

Good reporting.

Disgusting statement by the Agent and Mattingly, in effect saying JT and Pena have class.

But Girardi doesn't.

Talk about a shot across the bow. Low class statement. A cheap shot.

But didn't Girardi care for his mother when she has brain cancer?

Didn't he get a degree from Northwestern?

Is he classless?

A Rod runs with a whore and his wife has an F bomb tank top on in front of 50,000 fans with kids nearby, but do we hear about his/her "class?"

No.

Mattingly is throwing his toys out of the cot.

He should have said "I will come back. We need a good tapestry of coaches all working together. There is no 'I' in team."

I like him and I can understand being bitter, but you have to be humble to be exaulted. You can't be proud and bitter.

His time would have come.

You can't tell me Zim wasn't a huge part of the dynasty teams. So what he was 2nd in command. Look at Buddy Ryan on the 1985 Bears.

Not everyone can be the Chief. You need good Indians.

what are you talking about??? Joe, Tony being tony pena and joe giard in that he was honored to be among such a select group...

I am surprised that he doesnt want to continue as bench coach... it wouldnt surprise me if he accepts a job later this offseason or next to come back in some form.

Read with attention, Anthony. Always watch the antecedents. "Joe", in Mattingly's statement (in which he refers to his professionalism and the honor of being considered along with him and Tony for the position, and wishes him luck in the future), is clearly, obviously, and grammatically inevitably no one else but JOE Girardi.

No need for moral superiority and righteous indignation here. Give it a rest.

Girardi was the right decision from the start. The process worked and the H/H boys agreed. So, step 1 is done. Now, lets get it going with Pettitte, MO and Jorge.

The team should not falter anymore with FA 's leaving. This is the Damn Yankees who leaves the Yankees?

Larry,

A-Rot left.

John G:

At this point who cares. Did not have the $all$ to hear the Yanks out.

I'm not concerned about a competitive team that we'll have. Sometimes its addition by subtraction.

Dear Stanky Fans:
Sorry to hear about the Mass Exodus in the Bronx (LOL). A-Rod, Torre, Mattingly, Mo, Posada, Petite...Oh, the Humanity...Where, Oh, Where will it End!!! See you in the World Series in about 86 Baby! Good Luck on that Golf Thingy (LOL)!

I don't think there was a place for Mattingly on Girardi's staff. As I posted earlier, the media would always put Mattingly in a position of trying to second guess Girardi and then they would run to Girardi and tell them Mattingly disagreed with the way he does things. It would never work so, sadly, Donnie has to go. I wish he would consider managing in the minor leagues but my guess is he is waiting to see what Torre does. Otherwise, if he wants to manage that bad, why not throw his hat in the Pirates ring? I can't remember if they're still looking or not but you have to start somewhere, Girardi did and look what it got him.

I do feel bad for Donnie though, if George promised him the job I think he's got a reason to be upset but as usual, he has handled it with class (when you read his statement correctly..ahem...Ant).

Best of luck Donnie! Hopefully you will still show up for old timers day.

With this kind of off-season, by the end of it may be just Skipper Gerardi and General Von SteinGrabber will be left...Ooh, Ooh, Ooh...I know Gerardi can play catch with Von SteinGrabber (LOL). This is just too Ridiculous...I just can't make fun anymore...I really feel too bad for you guys.

RSN,
You don't have to feel sorry for the Yanks, they don't feel sorry for themselves, your team cornered the market on that a long time ago. Enjoy success now my friend, it may not last...just look at Detroit.

I've never seen any team lose so much so fast! Best of Luck with everything. Sorry about your losses.

Larry,

Don't get me wrong. I'm with ya on this. My post was an attempt at humor responding to what you posted about who leaves the Yankees.

Let me leave you with one last thing...Parade...Tomorrow...Be there or be square. Open invite to All Baseball Fans...Including Yankee fans :-)

RSN, We know how it burns you that the media is more interested in our manager search and hot stove stuff than in that 'twice in a lifetime' RS WS win. Funny how we can't stop being number one in the public's eye no matter what. Wonder why that is?

Is the Girardi hire official yet? I haven't seen comments from him yet.

Umm, hello? He was referring to Joe Girardi having class in the statemtn.

The
Red Sox are baseball.

ENJOY THE DEMISE LOSERS

p.s MY kid is 7 and has seen 2 rings..How many have your kids seen?

KAT

Great job on the statements coverage!

"Anonymous"

I don't have kids atleast none I know about...

Usually I ignore those like yourself, who speak as you have, because I assume those who make such remarks are mostly teenagers who seek to take a swipe at Yankee fans...To make up for all the misfortune they themselves or their fathers have seen being Redsox fans etc...

But you Sir have out done yourself.

If you are indeed a father I pity your child.

His father is a classless immature jackass.

Why a "father" would seek to say such a thing out loud or in this case for others to see in public in what appears to be an effort to "Brag" is not just obnoxious but depressing.

Grow up my friend.

PTRS,

Its hard to call a Red Sox fan what you do with a straight face when your moniker is PTRS!!

Alright what do you guys think about this dream I conjured up.....

The Yankees immediately need to start inquiring about Johan Santana. They attempt to make a move that would include Hughes or Kennedy, Melky, and maybe some mid level prospects.

The Yankees then go after Rowand or Hunter to fill the CF gap and hopefully gain some offensive power over Melky.

Move Cano to 3B and sign Luis Castillo off free agency. Cano has a great arm and will be able to handle 3B and Castillo adds solid defense at 2B along with some speed and a good on base percentage.

Sign Posada and Mariano to 3 year around 40 million each.

These moves will not make up for AROD's offense but will give us a really solid rotation going into 2008 with....

Santana
Wang
Pettitte
Kennedy/Hughes
Mussina

Joba starts the year as a starter until we know what we have in Ohlendorf, Humberto, and our other prospects. Then his need in the rotation will be continually evalutated against his role as a lights out setup man.

This does not all seem impossible. But a lot would have to fall in place.

Nudge

HAH

Yeah...I thought about putting a disclaimer down before and after writing to that moron but I figured why bother...I assumed what I said would be taken at face value with most already having a pretty good context of where I was coming from etc.

PS...Good to see you Nudge.

It seems you were right on atleast A-Rod so far.

I'm impressed I thought for sure he'd stay.

Giving us the potential lineup:

Damon
Jeter
Bobby
Rowand/Hunter
Posada
Cano
Matsui
Phillips/Doug/Duncan
Castillo

Red Sox Fans,

Yankee fans don't envy the Red Sox -- but they despise you nasty, bitter, classless piece of $hit fans. How many fellow fans did you kill last night in the midst of your celebration? How many cars did you burn? How many riots did you have in the streets? Your sick comments are despicable. Your never-ending Yankee obsession is frightening. Grow up is right -- and get a life in the process.

PTRS,

Its amazing that after all the A-Rod contract antics from the first round with Texas and the Mets that anyone beleived anything other than he was going to do what Boras advised.

PTRS,

Why are you lying to this Nudge character by telling him it's good to seem him? He's a worthless piece of $hit on this blog and his attitude worse than the most bitter obnoxious Red Sox fan. This man is obviously mentally ill and severely in need of immediate help. Please don't encourage him to hang out here all day when he belongs in a mental institution instead.

McCarthy THANK YOU FOR EXCLUDING THE NAMES "BETIMIT" and "CREDE" !!!

I'm not sure your proposed line up is realistic but I'll say it's atleast one of the easier to swallow even as an unlikely hypothetical....

I don't mind spending a good amount on Rowand knowing hes going to give it his all out in center and he is only 30.

Castillo I would have a tougher time signing to a long contract even though he is very consistent and gives us some defense and speed at 2nd.

Santana is the tricky one to get, but Hughes and Melky are a great start for the Twins.

We can also get rid of Giambi and take anything we can get....so mainly a handful of prospects

Anon,

Who said I was a man?
How do you know I am not a woman?
Nudge is not gender specific.

BTW ,yours is one of the weaker anon attempts to battle me. The saying goes if you're going to go to a battle of the minds...don't show up unarmed!

Nudge
Call me naive but I didn't think "A-Opt" would have a choice to be honest.

I couldn't imagine another team paying him more than what the Yankees could pay and still I'm not sure this is 100% a money issue.

I'm beginning to think this may be more about AR not wanting to play on this team anymore and I could speculate on a variety of reasons but money IMO is not one of em.

PTRS,

One thing you can ensure about Boras is that without competition he is lost. The Dice K negotiations proved that. He had no one to play against the Sox and the Sox new it. Even then he still tried. So without the opt-out he only had the Yanks to talk to. Now he can play everyone against each other.

Hey RS fans, I have seen more WS wins in my 35 years than you can even drem of. 6-2. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How bout back to back to back? Cann't match that? Or 125 wins. 1998. Try that. Thought nit.

I mean not. But RS fans are too stupid to notice.

Easy Jim, the stadium is empty and your voice is echoing.

Hey Nation, we are rid of A-Rod. Thank God. Those Yankee dynastees won without superstars. We are getting back to that. Don't believe the hype. We'll be better next year. Good young pitching, balanced lineup.

Nudge, Yankees Stadium is just filling up again. This will be a damn good team next year.

torre to LA
http://yankees.lohudblogs.com/

Nudge

I'm aware of all that and I'm very familiar with Boras's tactics but I believed that this time it wouldn't work.

I figured this was solely about the biggest deal and felt very confident that Boras and Alex would know that it doesn't get bigger than the Yankees offer and that they'd likely take or atleast talk to the Yankees to get what they thought they could likely get out of them.

I thought for sure it would be "Dice K-Part II" in that it would take till the last minute and a lot of loud talk from both sides would be exchanged.

But that's not what happened at all.

Boras is either calling the Yankee bluff, or already has an offer in hand which he believes is better than what the Yankees were prepared to offer...

Either way I'm SHOCKED that they atleast didn't want to sit down with Hank and Hal and atleast go thru the motions.

The fact that they bypassed that whole thing leads me to believe that Alex may actually just want away from the Yankees which if it is true I'm fine with.

I'm not happy about it but I understand.

The Yankee fans were brutal with him in 06 and AR never seemed to totally look comfortable here.

I'm not sure he'll ever be comfortable but if he wants out because he'd rather play under a lesser amount of scrutiny etc...Than I find that much easier to tolerate than the guy is just a greedy extortion artist.

Anonymous, to answer your question, my son is 14 and has seen 4 rings.

Anon,

Mine have seen four.

RS fans will never acceept that the Yankees WS glory is still so fresh in our memories.

Rings seen:

Children -- six

Grandchildren -- four and two respectively

(It's indecent to count up how many I've been around for. But thanks, Yanks.)

Man the Tigers don't waste any time! Already trading for Renteria... one of Theo's mistakes but whose deal eventually landed the Sox Coco Crisp...

Hey! You guys want Coco?
How about straight up for Joba?

Actually, the Renteria trade is significant for one reason:

The Tigers were considered an outside dark house suitor for A-Rod.

Well with shortstop filled and Guillen moving over to first, I think they'll be out and focused on getting their pitching staff healthy

Anon--

Has your kid also seen you rush to the computer to taunt Yankee fans instead of enjoying the moment?

Some things never change in Boston. You would think that at last they might grow up. Now they inform us that they are passing on their inferiority complex to the next generation of innocent children.

Oh, the humanity!

Peter Abrahams posted on his blog an hour ago that The Journal News is reporting that Joe Torre will be hired as manager of the Dodgers and
Don Mattingly is in line to join his staff (as well as an offer likely being made to Kevin Long, but Abrahams thinks Long may stay where he is).

Anybody awake out there?

The NY Times is now reporting that according to two MLB officials the LA Dodgers are seeking to unload Grady Little and take on Joe Torre, who plans to offer Don Mattingly a place on his staff.

As you probably already know, Mattingly's son Preston is in the Dodgers' minor league system.

Torre is a huge step up from Grady Little.

Then again Tori Spelling would be a huge step up from Grady Little.

How strange would it be to see Don Mattingly in a Dodgers uniform?

Ninja

I am awake ;)

Good to see you again!

What are YOU doing up I usually look for the rare "Diane-contribution" in the "AM" postings...

Anyway...

I'm very disappointed in #13 and his and his evil agents antics.

If what you're reporting is true I say good for Joe and Donnie.

The way the JT situation was handled quite frankly embarrassed me to be a fan...The same can be said for Mattingly.

I'm very worried about the sudden void we'll now have to deal with in the wake of the apparent AR Divorce but I'm trying to stay positive and clinging to a rather unfair bit of humor-regarding your report.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW POOR SCOTT PROCTOR MUST FEEL IF JOE AND DONNIE ARE CHASING HIM!!

lol.

Poor Scott.

I hope he's ensured that right arm.

Archangel as usual you are right, blogging is usually a morning activity for me, but this news was too juicy, I wanted to be the first here with it. Base, I know.

So far Proctor seems not to be suffering as JT's bullpen favorites are alleged to do.

Grampa was the prescient one, foreseeing the NYY reunion in SoCal.

What odds AR ends up in the neighborhood as well...

Enough irony?

Diane

I agree this all very weird and I must admit as a Yankee fan having the stability we've had for as long as we've had has made me weak and somewhat compromised to the occasional "Shake Up" LOL.

I'm not kidding though!!

For the first time in a VERY LONG TIME I'm actually worried about our beloved Yankees...

GS obviously being phased out,his sons show up and now I feel like the substitute teacher who came in is just here to pick up a pay check...

BLAH BLAH
Sorry kinda tired now...

ANyway I'm off to bed I hope to see you soon (your posts of course)

M PTRS

I don't feel like the "sub.."

DISREGARD THE ABOVE POST

I'LL SEE TO IT THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN...

MPTRS

I think Girardi has the potential to be a good manager for the Yanks. As for Mattingly, I really can't blame him for leaving.

If he ends up joining Torre in LA or another city, and they win, while the Yanks suffer, I would hope that Cashman will be shown the door.

The real problem with the Yankees is Cashman. He has done a terrible job.

He should know that pitching wins championships. Why was Beckett not a Yankee? Why was Matsuzaka not signed? Why was a play not made for Zito, Hudson? Instead, he signed players who need cranes to get out of bed...Randy Johnson, Clemens, Petitte. The man should be out! The Yanks are a mess right now. I would be surprised if Rivera, Posada resign.

I would expect that Cashman will bring Schilling here. He fits the bill for an aging, broken down arm...just what the Yanks need!

Don Mattingly was everyone's favorite during the lean years. He gave us hope and something to root for.

But now the Yankees take an approach of baseball first with decisions made by the baseball people. Don came up short this time but to not pursue your dream by staying with the organization in some capacity is not looking at the whole picture. Don take some time but do come back. It will serve you well and the Yankees. You may have had some promises by a man with impulsive instincts but he's not in charge and other folks with less impulsive behavior are in charge. Donnie get your experinece somewhere and be ready for the call do not leave anything up for chance.
If someone promises you something understand it may not happen.

Girardi was the correct choice and telling Arod get lost was the best for his lack of respect for the organization and the game. 10 days to make a decision and before the WS is over he pe- empts the Series.

Lets move forward and make the moves to get the ship in balance.

I do take Hank's statement to heart. We don't want people who don't want to be Yankees. Its a prievelege to wear the uniform. Ask the kid Duncan the meaning of the uniform. I wonder how Arod's fan club feels about him, now. I'm referring to Cano and Melky.

Good Morning All,

As I was reading that Joe Torre was most likely going to get the Dodgers job, I could not stop thinking that this was forgone conclusion before the Yankees made their offer. It seems to me (of course I could be wrong) that the Dodgers contacted Torre before the Yanks made their offer and Joe knew that when he declined the Yanks offer. Sounds like someone was breaking the rules somewhere. Hey Joe don't you think it is time to retire and spend time with your family? I am sure you have enough money by now. If it was me I would say it was time to retire and spend the time with my family and relax but I guess all people are different.

See How BS floats on both sides of the equation. If this was AROD and he "SUDDENLY " had a dodger offer he would continued to be blasted, I begining to sense moment by moment that Torre has FULL 0F SH*T antics not 100% but in certain ways.

In a twist this helps the Yankees if Torre goes there and takes some of these players like lets say posada and they suck while Girardi does ok then it works in a balanced matter. Mattingly would probally be under a 3year deal and if Girardi sucks or better yet the dodgers suck He will coming crawling back if the offer is there.

Girardi was the original intent for LAD

BB,

I kind of agree about Torre. I am sure that he is the nice guy that everyone says he is but in this instance it looks like he was looking out for himself, of course in retrospect we all look out for ourselves and families first. It is hard not to look at the situation as anything other than a fan. If you put yourself in the same situation you might think differently. Like I said before we are all different. If we were all the same this world would be pretty boring.

Bomber, Dog,
Is Torre supposed to go off sulking and feeling sorry for himself and never manage again? The man is pissed and the ironic part about that is the Yankees "insulted" him with a contract offer meant to motivate him and it appears as if it has done just that, except he is now motivated on the left coast if this is true. If it is true, I hope he succeeds and I hope only for the best for him and Don Mattingly. The Yankees cut them loose essentially so they have a right to get other jobs.
Scott Proctor is the one to worry about though...get the icing started on that arm Scott, you may need it!

I don't see Posada and Rivera heading for the Dodgers, Pettitte either really but you just never know.

gotta go there are Yankee reps in my office. give you the scoop later if allowed

Jim,

I never said that Torre was wrong. My point was that if you look at the situation as a fan, it looks a little fishy. If you look at it like a person in his shoes you understand why he did it. My only thought was that it was strange that the offer was there so quick. I just thought he was contacted earlier than we think. Either way, if I was Joe I would have retired and relaxed a little but that is me. I am sure he is a lot more competitive than me and he feels he has to prove something to the Yanks. I see both side of the coin.

ok have a quick time out ,

Jim A -

Business is Business and Press is press Torre knows he can do whatever without much skepitism. It is not the factor of him getting another job it is his statements (press conference) wanting time to reflect what 5 minutes?

Gotta go

I am glad we are ridding ourselves of more divas. Just goes to show you everyone loves Donnie baseball but the mintue he doesn't get his way he leaves. I understand he would not want to be under Joe G. but if you actually cared for the organization you would possibly bring up the fact you want to stay but maybe a different position in the organization. Now his statement looks like A-Rod's filled with a bunch of crap. I thought he is leaving because he wanted a managers job??? Now your gonna go to LA to be bench coach? Pena has no problem staying.I guess Donnie let his ego get the best of him here. Toore can bring all his little following with him. Donnie turned his back on us Yankees fans when he didn't get his way. We got rid of 2 jinx's yesterday anybody up for Giambi next?

Well said AJ. Its time to Roll

And guess what, We have about 30 mil more bucks to play with next year. Again LETS ROLL

Bomber, Dog,
The only thing I find fishy about the situation is that Torre expressed interest in the Dodgers job even though they haven't fired their manager (yet) and to me, that is one thing Torre could and should take a hit on. I don't think it's very cool to express interest in a job that is currently filled and it's classless of the Dodgers to leave Little hanging like they are. They should either fire him or come out and say that he isn't going anywhere.
I don't find it fishy that Torre has an offer this quick. George told the press that if the Yanks lost the Cleveland series, Torre was gone, so I'm sure teams started thinking "what if we could get him?" as soon as the last out of that series was made. They've had plenty of time to send messages of interest to him.

Bomber- Give us the scoop as soon as Cash, Hank and Hal leave your office!

Jim,

Good points. I didn't even think about the George ultimatum coming in to play when the offer was made. Also for Torre, who I understand is a classy person, you are correct in thinking that it is kind of classless of him to even respond to the Dodgers before Grady Little is let go. Now of course we don't even know if Torre has actually talked to anybody. This might be all speculation or just conversation between his agent and the Dodgers. Either way the Dodgers should be ashamed of the way they are treating Little regardless of the job that he did. As they say "Business is Business" and unfortunately in some circles that is all that matters.

Mattingly did not accept a position on the Yankees coaching staff BECAUSE he already was offered a position with Torre on the Dodgers staff. Duh. And I am tired of Ant Hill rehashing my info (Zimmer/Stottlemyre) and making it sound like he/she came up with it all by themselves. Time to get some bug spray! This insect doesn't have a clue about baseball - Listen up, get a CLUE. Gotta be a "non-athletic" type. And the "Joe" Donnie was referring to was GIRARDI. Comprehension and interpretation have eluded this blog.
Good-bye and good riddance to AFraud the Phony and his accountant!

Mike,

You sound a little angry this morning. Haven't had you coffee yet. Just kidding. I agree about Mattingly, but who could blame him. I am not sure but I have this feeling that he was promised the job by George and Cashman and that is why he is so upset. I have a feeling we have another Yogi situation on our hands. I don't think we are going to see Mattingly at Yankee stadium (unless the Yanks are playing the Dodgers) for a long time. It is sad when you think of it.

Mike,
I disagree on Mattingly. I think it was a foregone conclusion that he would not be back if he did not get the manager position. It's not like he was going to be offered the bench coach position with the Yanks anyway, it would have been too awkward having him sit next to Girardi.
I think the only choice Mattingly had if he wanted to stay with the Yankees was to go to the minors and for some reason, he doesn't want to do that so I think it's perfectly logical of him to seek other employment, and if it's with a boss he likes, good for him. I don't think he's being disloyal to the Yanks one bit. They promised him a job and he didn't get it so he has a right to be a little mad about that. He is a proud man and his pride took a hit, there's nothing wrong with him leaving as far as I see it.

Dog-

Not seeing Mattingly in Yankee stadium for a long time might be a good thing. When he was parked at first for the years he was not injured we did not win.Year after he retires we win the world series and follow up 3 more in the next four seasons.Comes back in 2004 and the Yanks have not won anything since and the Soxs have won 2. Did Donnie reverse the curse?

AJ,
That is nonsense. Donnie Baseball was the only thing worth watching at Yankee Stadium for many years. I grew up watching this guy play his guts out day and day out. He played when he could hardly stand up straight because he ruined his back by hitting and working hard on his fielding every single day That curse stuff is for Red Sox and Cubs fans, it's ridiculous.
Man, I hate the way some fans turn on some people.

If you really believe in curses, maybe the Yanks should have hired Showalter for this season and then fire him next November...two out of three teams who fired Buck have won the WS the following season..what say you?

Jim A.,

I agree, the notion of curses is foolish.

As I see it the ultimate PR disaster for the Yankees would be that Torre and Mattingly in Dodger blue lure Mo to be their closer while Posada catches 140 games for the Mets.

One more thing on Torre though - can we now put to rest what a victim and classy individual he is - for three weeks he has been spinning the Yankees as villains and himself as a martyr and now he is ripping the carpet out from under Grady Little to get his job.

Roy -

You can kiss your dreams of Yuniel Escobar goodbye. The Braves traded Renteria to the Tigers for a couple of prospects. Good trade for both teams and takes a potential A-Rod suiter (Detroit) out of the mix.

Any idea about trading Melky and Hughes is very, very bad.

I say we go after Mike Lowell or Aramis Ramirez if the Cubs get A-Rod.

First things first: Girardi press conference, he can select his staff, sign Mariano and Jorge, probably sign Abreu, Doug, Molina and Vizciano.

Then we can worry about 3rd base. Besides all that will only take till Thursday afternoon? :)

AJ,

I don't know about the Mattingly curse. Could there also be a Giambi, Mussina, A-Rod etc. curse or did they not win because they could not perform in the playoffs.....hmm it makes you wonder.

Jim,

I agree about Mattingly. He was the only bright spot on those 80's teams and he played his heart out. He just had bad luck. I wish the best for him and I hope this does not affect whether he ever comes back to the stadium for Old Timers games. Has anyone heard who Girardi is considering for his coaches?

hey great article by Lupica in todays NY Daily News - im somewhat of an a-rod guy and not so much a lupica guy, yet this article made some sense and called out a-rod /boras big time.

(dont have the thread, but its in todays NY daily news)

Yes I believe that bad karma exists. Granted Donnie was a great player and played his heart out I never was crazy over him. I have every right to not like any player I choose so.Do you believe A-Rod is ever going to win a ring? If you say no isn't that the same thing as saying he cursed? Don't give me that Sox,Cubs nonsense. We all feel that way about some player or another. They just feel it about there whole team.

Ysnkees have finally lifted the A-Fraud and Mattingly curses. Kudos to that.

Now all you need to do is find a way to get Mussina, the player more jinxed than anymore, and you're set.

Dog, according to Peter Abrahams, who has been more on top of this story than almost anybody else, Girardi and Cashman are moving quickly to tie up Kevin Long before he becomes available on Wednesday, since it is believed that Torre would snap him up. They are also said to want to hold onto Pena, but he has basically said he's staying if he's wanted here.

Dog, forgot to mention that Pete Abraham also listed Thomson as someone NYY wants to make sure of before Wednesday, for the same reason as Long.

Sox Fan,
Those schools in New England must be really proud of you as you are quite the writer.