On the Yankees beat

I would bat Betemit 7th and Cano 8th. Maybe that will help to wake him up.

Ah, see that?

I've said in recent days that the injuries are going to exonerate Girardi for many of the ills this team has faced this season.

I sure hope they don't try to fix the problem by spending like moronic drunken sailors because that's part of the reason they are in this mess in the first place.

John,

Here's how I see it with Cano. If the Yanks and Girardi have to be creative in trying everything to "wake up" Cano - maybe the best thing to do over the offseason is to find a trade partner for Cano.

I'm tired of the lackluster effort on his part everyday. I'm going to remain in the Cano-for-Matt Kemp camp for the next 5-6 months.

There are times when I wished Hank would just not say anything, but then today he says the following and I just love it, here's Hank:

"We're going to win it next year," he said. "If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we'll do that. We'll do whatever we need to do. Next year we'll be extremely dangerous."

I love it!!! (and I'm sure CC's agent is pretty happy about it too).

Yeah Jim. That will drive the price up won't it.

You may be right Viper, but I'm not sure that the Yanks are going to trade the kid. He has the potential to lead the league in hitting one year. Should be an interesting off season to say the least.

Francessa said today that the Yanks should go all out to get Mahouth (sic) from Pittsburg in the winter. He says that this guy is made for Yankee Stadium.

Viper,

I am playing "Jail Break" as my theme for tonight's game..........hopefully AC/DC's mojo can will some balls into their lack luster play ;-)

Jim A.,

I completely agree with you!

John,

Francessa doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. He never does.

Pittsburgh isn't interested in trading him and the moron doesn't know anything about young talent until they play well against the Yanks.

He doesn't even have a clue what kind of talent the Yanks have on their farm.

Jim,

I really really wish that Hank was like his brother and would just shut the hell up.

Only a moron would telegraph his biggest priority over the offseason the way he did.

I am not sure Hank telegraphed signing CC...as a trade could be part of his thinking or possibly another pitcher?

I like the part of winning it next year but wasn't that the theme this year?

I've been thinking this for a while, but the reality is this Yankee team cannot win as constituted. They made three foolish mistakes last winter in re-signing Rodriguez, Posada and Abreu. Fortunately they still have massive dollars coming off the payroll this winter and there are some options.

Here is THE FAN PLAN for 2009. Henceforth on this blog please refer to it by that moniker.

1. Release all the players whose contract is ending (Abreu, Giambi, Mussina, Pettite, Pavano, I-Rod, Marte). This frees up roughly 88 million dollars in payroll flexibility. The Yankees may want to bank about $25M of that, so they have $60M to work with.

2. Believe it or not, A-Rod might be tradeable. Here is a possible scenario. Assuming the Dodgers have no interest in Manny (highly probable), then the deal is A-Rod for Kemp and Andruw Jones. LA gets the big bat they need and gets out from under Jones contract, we get a talented young outfielder.

3. Find or trade for a servicable Brosius type 3B. Casey Blake would do just fine.

4. Posada has to go to 1B, there isn't any way he can catch everyday without hurting himself or the team with his defense and game calling. I'm assuming Texiera is not likely to come here though he would be a great option in which case Posada goes to DH.

5. Nady is young and a gamer, so your outfield is now Nady, Damon (for 09 only) and Kemp.

6. Mussina and Pettite are still effective but it's urgent that we start opening slots for the young pitchers. Yanks need to say thanks and so long like they did with Bernie. Otherwise they'll be stuck with another key starter on the DL next year (can anyone say Pedro with a straight face?)

7. They need one more big SP so CC or Sheets is a necessity. Rotation then becomes CC, Joba, Wang, Hughes and Ponson/Giese/Kennedy/other.

8. Matsui is either traded or becomes a super sub/PH as desribed by others. I think he is their best clutch hitter so if they have to try using Posada as the catcher then he becomes DH or has to learn 1B.

9. Unresolved problems: Melky - gone, Jones can be the 4th outfielder/defensive replacement; Cano - too young to give up on but definitely needs an attitude adjustment; Catcher - I-Rod for a year while minor leaguers develop unless a better option opens up via trade; Bullpen - enough live arms in the system to solve this without spending on FAs

10. Finally, Jeter. It's clear he's on the down side of his career and a tough decision lies ahead, but I think that's past 09 so he stays at SS for the time being.

Payroll flexibility? We're talking about the Yankees! They have all the flexibility in the world.

Let me see if I get this: Get rid of A-Rod and replace him w/ Casey Blake, get rid of a bad CF and replace him with perhaps the most disappointing player in all of MLB, Andruw Jones?

"The Fan Plan" is......flawed.

Jeter looks like a DL candidate with the bad ankle.

Vote NO on "The Fan Plan"!!!

Just Say No to the "Fan Plan". It does for me what corn, bran, or figs do. Besides "genius" - ARod has a no trade clause and the Yankees have an agreement regarding the HR record being broken by ARod, if he doesn't choke getting there first. About time his bat ran into one.

Matsui will be the fulltime DH next year, like it or not. Damon will play centerfield, with AJax or a veteran pick-up backing him up. Abreu will be resigned for 2 yrs (1 yr plus club option). And Nady the Gamer will be our starting LF. ARod at 3rd, Jeter at short, Cano at 2nd (although the Viper deal is growing on me) and fill in the blank at 1st. Giambi will not be back - but I think I will miss the guy. He did care about winning and always tries. Can't complain about that with the guys we throw out there.
Rotation -
Wang
Joba
Hughes
Pettite
Moose