But Andy has his fifth ring now, and I’m sure he’s financially secure, so there isn’t much incentive for him to come back to the Yankees at this point — other than loyalty to the organization. But loyalty is a two way street & it’s time the Yankees shower Andy with gratitude for all he’s done. Overpay he some for one year, he’s earned that gratitude.

Andy’s no longer a 1 or 2 starter, but he’s still a great competitor, a better than league average 3rd or 4th starter, and one of the best lefties in Yankee History! We need to entice him back for one more year by showering him with affection, not ignore him & hope he comes back.

Who’s our #3 if he doesn’t come back? Joba? Hughes? Are you kidding me? At this point, do you really want to rely on Joba or Hughes to win the clinching game in every round of the playoffs — like Andy did this year? Hopefully, they both get to that point, but they’re not even close right now.

One question to everybody: Does anybody know if any pitcher in modern playoff history has ever before won the clinching game in all three rounds? It would seem unlikely, but it would be interesting to know for sure. If Andy’s the only one (or one of 2 or 3), it’s a great trivia question for the future.

He did not sign with the Yankees in 2004 because the Yankees did not treat him the way he thought he deserved to be treated. He also was not offered arbitration last year and he ended up signing anyway.

Trade Joba, Hughes, Posada, and Gardner or Melky (their choice) to Seattle for King Felix. I would even consider (but reluctantly so) substituting Montero for Gardner/Melky. That substitution might well get the deal done.

Why Posada? Four reasons:

1) He’s done defensively; he’s getting to be embarassing behind the plate, but he’ still better than anything Seattle has at catcher.

2) King Felix is young enough & dominate enough to be around for a handful of WS titles.

3) With a starting four of CC, King Felix, & Andy, we could easily get by with the great defense of Molina & Cervelli behind the plate.

4) Trading Posada would re-open the DH spot for Matsui for two years. He’s still one of the best hitters in baseball, and he’s definately a better all-around hitter than Posada — and they both carry about the same injury risk at this point in their careers.

We owe a great thanks to Jorge for all he’s done for the Yankees, but if I see him watch another runner rounding the bases instead of RUNNING to get a passed ball, I’m going to scream! Jorge, run & pick up the freakin’ ball, then throw wherever Jeter, A-Rod, or Tex tells you to throw to! You’re a veteran for god’s sake; I expect that kind of stupidity from Cano or Melky, but not a 13-year veteran!

“Pettitte – Doesn’t matter. He deserves a slight increase, doesn’t look like he would sign with anyone else anyway.”

This is EXACTLY the type of thinking that lost us Andy to the Astros some years back. We desperately need Andy again next year or we’re royally screwed. And the Yankees need to show some belated thanks and respect for what he’s done in his career here by offering arbitration. If they once again refuse to offer him arb, my bet is that he retires with the one for the thumb.

If Andy isn’t back, we’ll have to either sign Lackey for more years and dollars than advisable, or trade a bunch of potentially great players for Doc. I don’t like either of those prospect, even though Doc is a phenominal pitcher & would make us unstoppable if our key guys remain healthy.

CC, Doc, AJ, and Andy might be the greatest starting four in history, but the Yankees are close to their max-out dollar amount on players & signing Doc would make it difficult to fill the LF hole with anyone of real value. But, god, it would be nice to have him, wouldn’t it? What a staff that would be with Hughes or Joba in the five spot. Wow!

If the team is willing to raise the payroll this year to fill other holes I’m fine with that, but otherwise Damon at 15M is simply ridiculous.

At 15M you could sign Matsui and a cheaper LF or another starter.

Unlike previous years (mainly last year) the Yankees do not have that much financial flexibility to go spend a fortune.

I don’t consider that high risk.

There’s about a 30% success rate on Tommy John surgery the second time around, and Nady’s been about league average for most of his career.

It’s high risk, low reward.