Wednesday Night Open Thread

Here's some news from tonight. You can use this thread to discuss this or anything else that went on today, including the Halladay and DeRosa rumors.

- Talks between Hideki Matsui and the Yankees are on hold until after the team holds their annual postseason meetings.

"Nothing has changed," Tellem told a group of reporters. "But I expect things to pick up in a couple of weeks. As far as the Yankees go, I know they have organizational meetings so it will at least be several weeks until we get together with them as well. So that's pretty much it."

- According to Chad Jennings, the Yankees and Red Sox are in the lead to land Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

“Start with the Yankees and Red Sox and go from there,” the source said.

The source also told him that "Chapman has exactly the arm and raw stuff that he’s touted as having, but his control remains a bit erratic."

- Jennings also tells us that Cashman told him if the Yanks sign both Damon and Matsui that would pretty end their major free agents signings for the winter.

“If I did that I wouldn’t have room for anybody else unless I made trades,” Cashman said.

- According to Ken Davidoff, the Yankees are not thinking about reworking Joe Girardi's contract, even after a very successful 2009.

"Am I open to discussing it? I'm not even in a position to have thought about it," Brian Cashman said Wednesday as he departed the general managers' meetings. "I can tell you, right now, our coaches' contracts have expired. So I need to deal with who isn't signed, rather than who is."

- Jason Varitek exercised his $3 million player option and will remain with Boston as Victor Martinez's backup.

- Here's a very good article from Ben over at River Ave. Blues. He discusses how Johnny Damon and agent Scott Boras aren't on the same page. Boras has been saying that he wants a long-term deal -- something like 3 or 4 years -- while Damon has consistently expressed his wishes to come back to the Yankees, even if that means getting a smaller contract.