On the Yankees beat

MVP for the Yanks
Jose Molina.
Solidified the pitching staff. Calls a great game. Put up some awesome caught stealing numbers.
A ROCK behind home plate all season when Posada went down and Pudge didn't pan out.
(If he only had a .260 stick)

Most Outstanding Yankee
Tossup between Abreu and Damon. Both put up decent and consistent offensive numbers all season on a squad that was woefully inconsistent.

Yankee Cy Young...
Moose. Hands down.

Yankee Fireman of the Year.
Duh.

Yankee Rookie of the Year.
No selection.

Yankee MVP: Moose/Rivera
Yankee LVP: Andy/Cano
Based on what was expected it's fair to say both of these players underperformed. Andy was supposed to be the rock of the rotation but, whether it was age, injury, or whatever else - he came up very small when the team needed him most.

Yankee rookie of the year: Joba if he qualifies and if not, Phil Coke.

Best thing to come out of this season is that for the first time, in a very long time, the Yankee bullpen is not an issue going into the winter.

Again, heading into this winter the targets are obvious - CC, AJ, Tex. If the Yankees signed those three players and added a Rocco Baldelli or Mike Cameron to CF the team would be set - the question is what to do if it isn't that easy. What will Cashman do if he can't get CC or Tex.

Least Valuable Player.
Melky gets the nod over future Hall of Famer Pudge.
Only because Melky spent a longer part of the season here.
While an outstanding defensive center fielder, Melky demonstrated time and time again that he has no concept of the finer nuances of baseball.
Forget switch hitting Melky, stick to batting left handed, you couldn't hit a beach ball from the right side.
Pudge? You've had a great career my friend, enjoy your road to the Hall of Fame. But you are the last guy I'd want handling a pitching staff right now.

Back to Rookie of the Year.
If I had to pick someone, I'd go with Ransom. (Acknowledging that he doesn't fit the definition of a true "rookie").
Can fill in any position in the infield, decent enough hitter. Made some decent contributions.

505 - Can't call Melky the LVP - I think there are guys who were expected to do more who came up very small. In the end, I go back to one thing on Melky. If other guys had done their jobs then they should have been able to carry Melky.

Chip,
Anytime you find it necessary to send a Centerfielder to the minors in midseason you are making a statement about how little value is placed on his contribution.

Successful baseball teams are built and based upon "strength up the middle"
Catching, pitching, 2nd base, Shortstop and CF.
Teams are built outward from there.

Melky failed miserably in one of the core positions.

So a friend and I were just talking and I asked him what his ideal offseason would be for the Yankees - thought I would share it with you:

Yankees sign: CC, Burnett, Orlando Hudson, Tex
Yankees trade: Damon for Chris Carpenter (thinking that the Cards would do this since they can't be sure what they're getting from Carpenter and the Yankees would do it to move Damon)
Yankees trade: Cano and Hughes for Matt Holliday

Lineup:
Jeter - ss
Hudson - 2b
Alex - 3b
Tex - 1b
Holliday - RF
Nady - LF
Posada - C
Matsui - DH
Gardner/Melky - CF

Rotation:
Sabathia
Wang
AJ
Joba
Carpenter (if he's healthy)

Personally - the only real change I would make to that is that I would sign Cameron to play CF rather than use Melky and Gardner.

I like your pick of Coke for Rookie of The Year.
Not sure why I didn't pick him....didn't feel like he spent enough time here....but then....neither did Ransom.

Coke is gonna be a nice addition next year.
And I LOVE Aceves as well (despite Friday night's burp in the rain game in Boston)

MVP has to be Moose. He was solid all season long and ALMOST fulfilled my pre season prediction of 25-3.

Of course I was kidding when I made that prediction because you guys wanted him dead (figuratively of course).

LVP? I would say Cano, but how about a category called "Most Assinine Coach". My vote goes to Bobby Meacham.

He should be boiled in oil!!!

Francessa's having a field day with Met fans.

MVP: Moose- He's the difference between third place and last place for the Yanks and deserves more than just their Cy.

LVP: Cano. He, unlike Melky, was counted on to produce in the lineup and didn't at all. Melky's offense should have just been a bonus but with the injuries to Posada, Matsui and others at times he became a scapegoat- a deserving one for flailing at the first pitch all the time but any offensive production from him should have just been icing on the cake.

CY: Mo- already gave Moose the MVP so I figured we couldn't forget about the unbelievable year out of Mariano.

Are we talking about "least valuable" here or "player who failed (the most) to live up to expectations"?
The pain of sending Cano to the minors or benching him for any length of time would have been far greater than what was experienced by dumping Melky as the everyday CF'er.

Just my opinion.

Chip - You and your friend are idiots. Or 15 and played too much PlayStation.

LVP - Melky. Would be Cano but they seemed to have corrected his timing issues in his batting stance. Melky can't catch up to a fastball inside.

MVP - Moose

Rookie - Brett Gardner (Joba pitched in the playoffs last year, that takes him out of my running)

Offseason moves - Keep Cashman, bring Willie Randolph back to work with Cano's D and keep building the farm system.

Someone talk me off the ledge, please. I want McLouth for CF, and eventual RF or LF and #3 hole in the lineup when Austin arrives. Give up Cano, Melky, IPK. Is that not enough? Throw in a tilted reliever swap.

I also want Cashman back.

Don't think Tex or CC are coming East. But I'd take either one, or both. Apparently, the team is sold on Burnett, and AJ's sold on the Bronx. Let's hope he can beat someone besides the Yanks. I'd be happy to pick up Hudson for 2B, if Cano can be moved for a reliable starter and/or in a package for a promising OF.

Not married to Giambi or Abreu anymore, though I won't be disappointed if Bobby comes back for another year in RF. Similarly, Matsui's lost his hold on me, and Damon--though I can never get his clutch upper-deck dingers out of my head--seems like he'd be worth more on the market than he is in the lineup.

Moose makes his own call.

Pettitte--eh. Just don't know. He had a bad year. But how do you turn him down if he wants to come back?

Wang is Wang.

Hughes gets a shot.

Joba, Mo, etc.