As far as we know, as of the moment this was posted, the Yankees are out of the Johan Santana Sweepstakes. Whether they’re actually out of it remains to be seen. Until there’s definitive news of a trade, I find it hard to believe that the Yanks are completely out of the loop. But for now, all we have to go on are reports, and they’re all saying that the Yanks are out, and that the Red Sox are the No. 1 suitors for Santana’s services.
Then again, maybe the Twins aren’t too thrilled about dishing the best pitcher in the game for a good pitching prospect, a group of mid-ceiling guys, and a no-hit center fielder. After all, we’ve seen reports that the Angels put in a bid, and hell, even that the Rangers are interested. Gee, I wonder who’s planting those stories.
Some signs that a deal with the Sox might not be as close as some will have you believe:
- Will Carroll, at 5:15 p.m. EST on Tuesday, said that the deal was “all but done“. Without getting into specifics, Carroll is known for being wholly inaccurate in regards to his reported rumors. There are plenty of examples out there.
- Even before that, at 3:28 p.m. EST on Tuesday, the Red Sox Propaganda Machine said that a deal “could be close”. You think maybe people are feeding Petey these Red Sox stories, knowing he’ll just and yap them to the world?
- Things are going so slowly that, despite talks supposedly ongoing for most of the afternoon, the only thing to report in the evening was that the teams had broken for dinner. Nothing to see here, folks.
- As La Velle E. Neal III notes, the Yankees have not told the Twins that they’re out on Santana (emphasis his). He reports that “it doesn’t look like anything is close,” though he admits that’s speculation on his part.
So this is far from over. Not that the Yanks will or should get back into the derby. I’m just saying that Santana to Boston isn’t as surefire a deal as some may have you think.
The quote of the night, though, comes from Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Brace yourselves for this one:
“How about the Yankees, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs altogether?”
I don’t even want to go into this. I’ll leave at this: fucking foolish.
Couple of other Yanks notes, also courtesy of Newsday:
- Luiz Vizcaino has “made a point to [agent Bean Stringfellow] that he does like New York.” Stringfellow then rattled off some random teams that are interested in the Viz, and followed it up by saying that he “believes that Vizcaino can get a 3-4 year contract along the lines of Scott Linebrink.” If that’s the case, it was nice having you for three out of the six months we had you, Viz.
- Seeking security for his client, Chien-Ming Wang’s agent Alan Nero approached the Yankees about a long-term contract to buy out his client’s arbitration years. “Fine,” said the Yanks. “Make us an offer.” Discussions ended there. Might it be time for Wang to be seeking new representation?
Are you ready for another day of this?
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