The Giants don’t kick off against the Cowboys until 4:15pm ET, but there’s still plenty of early games to keep you occupied. Talk all you want about the football games here.
Cameron not an option for the outfield?
One candidate for the Yankees’ left field vacancy might not be one for much longer. Mike Cameron was a decent alternative to Damon, but he may no longer be an option. Will Carrol tweets that the Cubs are ready to sign Cameron, pending a trade of Milton Bradley.
Cubs signing of Mike Cameron is waiting on deal of Milton Bradley, which has been “imminent” for about 72 hours.
The Rays seem to be in the lead for Bradley, with Pat Burrell heading to Chicago. Then there’s the issue of money — Bradley still has two years and #21 million left on his contract, so the Cub will probably pay a portion of that to off-set the dollar discrepancy.
If Cameron is off the table and Bay and Holliday aren’t options, it looks like Damon is the last hope. He’s not atop the priority list, but it looks like he’ll be important for the Yanks if they want to upgrade their current left field situation, which would presumably be Melky Cabrera.
Glove slap, the recently redesigned TYU.
Report: Towers “leaning towards” joining Yanks
Former Padres’ GM and Brian Cashman‘s homeboy Kevin Towers is reportedly “leaning towards” accepting an offer to join the Yankees in some unknown capacity, according to Tracy Ringolsby. Towers is planning to meet with the Yanks, Red Sox, Mets, and Mariners about potential employment during the Winter Meetings next week, and I’ve already made it known that I want the Yanks to bring him aboard because he’s a certified genius when to comes to evaluating pitching.
Despite being more than qualified for just about any position a baseball team could possibly offer, Towers has already said that he’s not looking to sit in an office unless he’s a GM. Instead, he’s just looking to scout and be a guy that goes out and gathers information while someone else makes the decisions.
“That information-gathering is exciting for me; it gets the adrenaline flowing,” Towers said. “But I don’t mind being a sixth man or extra guy, either. I had that role before I was ever a G.M. I don’t mind being a good listener and just seeing how another G.M. works. I’ve always wanted to see how someone else does it.”
In a must read piece, Towers told The San Diego Union Tribune’s Tim Sullivan about how he wants to experience life in the American League, and how he’d just like to be a part of a big market front office for once.
“I don’t think I really know the AL as well as I know the NL, and I think it would be more educational,” Towers said between bites of a burger on Morena Boulevard. “Preferably, (with) more of a big-market club. I’d like to see how they do business, how you put an American League team together.
“I’ve always been used to a small pool of free agents. And even in trades, you can usually eliminate about 50 percent of the players on a lot of clubs’ rosters who wouldn’t fit in (the Padres’) budget. My focus has always been on a small group. I want to learn what is the process a GM has with a large group of players — internationally and domestically. How does that work?”
Sullivan also notes in the article that KT is “leery of the tension he perceives between his former boss and his former protégé, Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein,” according to Sullivan, which is good for the Bombers.
One day, Kevin Towers will get to put his GM hat back on. For now though, he seems content to just get back into the swing of things while learning as much as he can in a new environment. Ringolsby’s report make is sound like the Yankees will soon be the beneficiary of his experience and input, even if it’s only for a year or two. Only good can come from this.
Saturday Night Open Thread
I think all of the MSM is enjoying some time with their families before the hell of the Winter Meetings, hence the slow news day. It’s okay, things will start getting rather psychotic tomorrow, so rest up and use this thread to talk about whatever you want. The Rangers are in Buffalo, plus there’s a zillion college football games on. You know what’s up, so enjoy the thread.
Rumor du jour: Yanks interested in various agent starters
Via MLBTR, the Yankees have expressed interest in some free agent starters. Like a whole lot of them. John Lackey, Rich Harden, Joel Pineiro, and maybe even Randy Wolf too. Of course, their first priority is retaining Andy Pettitte, and surely they’re stay in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes until the bitter end. The point is, the Yankees are clearly on the prowl for someone to shore up the middle of the rotation.
I’m not a fan of Lackey given his recent elbow issues and presumed exorbitant contract demands, and both Pineiro and Wolf should be nothing more than last resort options for the Yanks given their complete inability to miss bats in recent years. Harden’s a fine candidate as long as he comes on a short (one or two year) contract. That said, I’d rather have Ben Sheets on a one or two year deal than any of them.
Scenes from a stadium dismantling
Earlier this week, Tom Kaminski took Chopper 88 for a whirl over Yankee Stadium and returned to Earth with another photo gallery from the dismantling of Yankee Stadium. As the above shot shows, the old bleachers are nearly gone, and the destruction of the House that Ruth Built is continuing.
Kaminski zoomed in on the right field seats and captured the Yanks’ dugout amidst the rubble. The sections behind home plate are nearly gone as well. While we have these glimpses inside the House that Ruth Built, the demolition of the stadium won’t hit home until the outside walls start coming down.
After the jump, a look inside the old Stadium. [Read more…]
Yanks plans don’t include Jason Bay or Matt Holliday
Buster Olney notes this morning that the Yankees sifted through their outfield options during their organizational meetings, and two names that aren’t options (for whatever reasons) are Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. I’m guessing it’s the combination of lots of dollars and lots of years. Olney says that Johnny Damon remains their top target for left field, but only if he comes down to $7-8M for a year or two. Plan B is Mike Cameron, who we’re very much a fan of.
Of course, we heard last year that the team didn’t have enough cash to bring in Mark Teixeira after landing CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, so don’t take this too literally. Cashman is a ninja, he attacks with great stealth.