The title says it all. In the name of all that is holy, please say no. If you could see me, I’m actually down on my knees typing this. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t do it.
For the Yankee fan who has everything
Available for sale at the MLB.com shop.
It does go nicely with the fresh rosemary and white wine. But seriously, is anyone going to buy that? Can you break that out at a dinner party with a straight face?
MiLB.com ranks Joba 5th
MiLB.com finished up its Minor League prospect rankings today, and Joba took the 5th spot. The Yanks ended up with three of the top 50 prospects, and Jose Tabata didn’t even make the list. Not bad for a team that didn’t have much of a farm system a few years ago.
A voice of Minnesota reason in the Santana insanity
To be honest, this Johan Santana talk has gotten a little bit out of hand. Names and crazy deals are flying left and right, and the papers in Boston and New York are feeding this media frenzy like no other.
Luckily, a voice of reason is trying to speak out through this riotous din. For that glimpse of sanity, we turn to the Twins beat writer for [name of paper], LaVelle E. Neal III. In a piece on the Santana trade discussions , Neal urges everyone to take a step back. Not only is a trade still not even all that close, but more teams are involved than just the Yanks and Red Sox.
Blasphemy, I know, but take a look:
Several teams — including the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Angels and Dodgers — have expressed interest. And it was learned on Thursday that the Mariners are in the running, too…
Smith said the Twins could be one of the busier teams next week at the winter meetings in Nashville.
“We’re just looking for the best players we can get,” he said. “Obviously, we’d like to continue add core players at any position. We’ll see what the winter meetings bring, and what’s in the following months.”
So calm yourselves. As you can see, no one’s getting traded yet, and the Yanks aren’t about to do something stupidly drastic such as trading Robinson Cano with a package of players for a guy who’s going to pitch once every five days.
We should all really take a deep breath, back off the trade talk and keep things in perspective. The Yanks are not alone in the hunt for Santana; things are a long way from being settled; and nothing foolish is going down. (At least, nothing more foolish than trading Lastings Milledge for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church.)
‘Problem? I don’t have a problem. I have problems. Plural.’
The Astros signed Kaz Matsui to a 3-yr, $15M deal. That team just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it?
Bonus points if you get the movie reference in the title.
Curry: Canó seemingly safe
Mark Loretta signings asides, based on reports this morning, it sounds like the Yanks aren’t even considering trading Robinson Canó. Jack Curry at The Times writes that the latest trade offer includes “pitcher Ian Kennedy, center fielder Melky Cabrera and at least one minor league prospect, perhaps outfielder José Tabata.” The Yanks feel they could have Santana if they offered up Hughes, but they are rightfully reluctant to part with the youngster. Canó’s name is not at all mentioned. Just say no to trading Canó.
Report: Yanks close with Loretta
Caught this one off a link from Buster Olney’s blog. Apparently, the Yanks are close to a deal with Mark Loretta. This comes in reference to the Rockies showing interest in the infielder:
However, the Rockies don’t like their chances, believing he will end up with the Yankees. While that deal is close, Loretta has made it known how much he likes the Rockies and would prefer to see how their second base situation plays out before signing with the Yankees.
According to Troy Renck, the Rockies have “as many as six internal candidates” for second base. They want to sign Loretta to add competition to the positional battle. This scares me.
Why? Because he’d have a far better shot at starting on the Rockies than he would the Yankees. Unless, of course, they planned to send Robinson Cano to the Twins in a Johan Santana deal. That would guarantee Loretta a starting job, or at least an unbiased competition with Wilson Betemit.
Of course, it could just be the money, and the Yankees are surely offering more. But with a full infield and Betemit as the backup, this report really makes one wonder if there’s something brewing at Yankees HQ.