Yanks, Pettitte, Not Close To Deal

Since the World Series ended almost 3 weeks ago, there has been very little news regarding talks with free-agents Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, or Andy Pettitte on potential new deals. And today, GM Brian Cashman said that he does not expect to hear from Pettitte regarding his future anytime soon.

Andy had a great season this year, going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 32 starts with the Bombers in his 14th MLB season. But the way the process of negotiations have gone so far, it may be possible that Pettitte is leaning towards hanging 'em up and going out in style.

"I thought Andy was real important to our success," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Monday. "Any time you lose a starting pitcher that gives you 200 innings, that's a hole."

Re-signing Andy Pettitte for next season is key, because then if he does retire, that forces you to go out and sign another pitcher like John Lackey or trade for Roy Halladay. And god for bid the Yanks are unable to get either of them, that would leave just CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett as the only returning pitchers from the rotation that brought a 27th World Championship to the Bronx this fall.

Then you would also have to put either Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in the rotation, plus a guy like Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin. And I know I'm kinda putting the worst-case scenario out there, but simply put - they really need to try to bring back Andy Pettitte.

Pujols Unanimous Pick For NL MVP

Like Joe Mauer yesterday, today's announcement of the NL MVP comes as no surprise. Albert Pujols received all of the possible 32 first-place votes and finished off his third MVP season batting .327/.443/.658 with 47 home runs and 135 RBI. Florida's Hanley Ramirez finished second, with Ryan Howard coming in third. The rest of the voting results can be found here.

No Met received any votes.

Olney: Yanks Looking To Land Two Relievers

In his most recent blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says that besides their outfield needs their main focus will be their bullpen and in all likelihood will look to land two relievers. Olney also said that "it's unclear whether New York GM Brian Cashman is going to be willing to give up his first-round pick in the draft for a set-up man."

Names Olney mentions as possible targets were Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Jose Valverde and Brandon Lyon.

To me getting the starting rotation in order should be the main priority, with the bullpen being issue number 3 behind the rotation and the outfield. Joe Girardi said yesterday that their main focus would be the starting rotation so I guess you can take this Olney article with a grain of salt. Especially when you consider their pen was a strength last year and they have a lot of good arms in their farm system.

Putting Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in next year's rotation would changes things a lot, and the pen would then definitely need an addition or two, but like I said last week, that all depends on how much Cashman trusts Joba and Hughes. Peter Gammons wrote today that that is in fact their plan, at least as of now.

The Yankees are planning to go to spring training with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain being programmed to start. "They can always go from starting to the bullpen, but it's tough going the other way," says Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

Cashman feels David Robertson and Damaso Marte can pitch the seventh and eighth innings in front of Mariano Rivera, but a Yankee run at Lackey, Ben Sheets or another starter hasn't been ruled out. The feeling inside the Yankees' offices is that there will be some payroll cutback, but how much is not known.

I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable with David Robertson and Damaso Marte being the main setup men. Maybe they will need two relievers after all.

No Yankees Attend World Series DVD Premiere

As you know, last night was the premiere of the 2009 World Series DVD. The main event, complete with red carpet, took place at Manhattan's Ziegfeld Theater. Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi, along with the team's announcers were on hand, but no players decided to show up for the event.

I understand the season just ended and they're all probably on vacation somewhere, but as Neil Best reported this morning, many Giants, including Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, David Tyree, Antonio Pierce, Amani Toomer, Osi Umenyiora and Brandon Jacobs, showed up for the premiere of their Super Bowl DVD.

I'm not really bothered by this, but I guess it would have been nice if someone showed up. Anyway, according to Amazon.com the DVD should be out today. I will be making my way over to Modell's later to see if I can pick up a copy.

Borden: Replace Posada With Mauer

American League MVP, Joe Mauer, is set to be a free agent at this time next year, and Sam Borden thinks it would be a good idea for the Yanks to make a run at him. So do I. Here's some more from Sam:

What would Mauer mean to the Yankees? Plenty. Pitching is forever the holy grail for success in major-league baseball, but a catcher — especially one who hits as well as he fields — comes right behind. The Yankees have had a distinct advantage over their competition for more than a decade with Jorge Posada’s well-above-average production, and Mauer is one of the few players in the league who could actually surpass that.

Posada’s contract expires after the 2011 season, but it is hard to imagine he will finish it playing the same number of games at catcher as he has for most of his career. Already the Yankees seem to be angling to give Posada more games at DH in 2010; assuming Hideki Matsui does not return, there will be no “regular DH” on a day-to-day basis, freeing it up for use by Posada and other players.

The Yankees do like their young catchers, particularly hot prospect Jesus Montero. Francisco Cervelli, too, showed that he can perform at the major-league level this past season.

Neither one is anything close to Mauer: an elite hitter, a skilled defender and a tireless worker. A cornerstone. Yankees fans shouldn’t bother being frustrated by what has already been with Mauer. They should just focus on what might yet be.

Like Borden mentions in the article the question of whether he is willing to leave his hometown is still up in the air, but as he points out "maybe he will be unable to ignore the allure of free agency."

And as I've stated on this blog before, if Mauer is willing to leave Minnesota the Yankees should to do what they can to sign him. I like the catching prospects in the minors, but I agree with Borden that none of them are close to Mauer, and likely none of them will be.

With a borderline Hall of Fame catcher close to retiring the Yankees are going to need a replacement, and they're going to need one by 2011. Mauer is clearly going to be the best available option.

Yanks Brass To Meet Next Week

From Ken Davidoff:

Brian Cashman will meet with the Steinbrenners next week in Tampa - likely Thursday, Dec. 3 - to fully discuss the Yankees' offseason budget and plans, Newsday has learned.

...

"Once I get some firm numbers, then I can go ahead and start putting together some ideas," Cashman said.

Brian Cashman, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine and COO Lonn Trost are all expected to be at the meetings. I would assume Joe Girardi will be there too, but I'm not positive about that.

Both Hal and Cashman are set at remaining a championship team while simultaneously lowering payroll.

"I think the big picture is to be real efficient with how we allocate our resources," Cashman said. "Obviously, last year showed examples of, depending who it is, we can step up in a big way. I think we're going to try to be careful. Careful doesn't mean slow. We're trying to spend it wisely, make the right commitments to use for the present and the future.''

Cashman also told Chad Jennings that while the Yankees want to also get younger, "but being younger only with the idea of getting better.”

Joe Girardi and Cashman also told Jennings that the rotation would be the first thing they have to address.

I like the approach the team appears to be taking, you?

Monday Night Open Thread: Yanks Recognized For HOPE Week

Saw this over at NYY Fans dot com and thought I'd share it with you. It's a desktop wallpaper that shows Godzilla destroying Citizens Bank Park.

(here's the full size version)

- The Yanks were named as 2009 honorees at the 11th annual National Sportsmanship Awards on for their work with during HOPE Week.

Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett and Jason Zillo, the club's director of media relations and publicity, were on hand to accept the award from the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance and the St. Louis Sports Commission.

"It was one of the most inspirational nights of my career," Zillo said. "HOPE Week was a great idea, but we could not have done it without the support of players like A.J. who really believed in what we were trying to do. The team and the organization and the players made it what it was."

- Brian Cashman told Marc Carig that the Yankees will deal with their own free agents before really hitting the market:

"I'll talk to our guys first. And after I have my conversation with our guys, I'll be full blown into the marketplace."

- And here's a video of the final out of the World Series from the WCBS880 broadcast booth. You even get to see the Sterling shake.

Other than that, things are obviously slow in the baseball news world. Enjoy Monday Night Football or whatever else you're doing tonight.

Yanks Giving Back To The Bronx For Thanksgiving

Bryan Hoch just tweeted this:

Yankees to distribute free turkey vouchers to Bronx residents Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m., Yankee Stadium Gate 2.

I love seeing the Yankees doing things like this. Plus, with the Bronx still missing a park, the least those residents deserve is a few free turkeys.