Pettitte: Put me back in pinstripes!

Veteran lefty Andy Pettitte was on a Houston TV Station yesterday stating that he wanted to return to the Yankees and that "his thoughts were there" this according to Peter Abraham. Obviously with 3 rotation spots to fill the Yanks will welcome back Pettitte on a slightly lesser deal. I think it would be wise to only bring back one of the 2 elder statesmen so assuming Moose retires Andy looks to be the lone gun returning for 09. I think Andy can still be an asset to this team both on the field and in the locker room. He is still most certainly a big game pitcher(see 07 ALDS) and a positive veteran presence for the younger hurlers.

Burnett/Bradley file for free agency, Boras drops in at GM meetings.

Free agents AJ Burnett and slugger Milton Bradley entered the free agent market today. Bradley had allegedly tried to negotiate a new deal with the Rangers however talks fell through and he is now available. Free agent pitcher AJ Burnett also filed for free agency after the Blue Jays failed to offer him a satisfactory deal. The fact that Burnett is now officially on the market is sure to entice Yankees fans after the righty went 3-1 against the Yanks with a 1.64 ERA. According to Peter Abraham super-agent Scott Boras dropped in at the meetings and said the market for his client Mark Teixeira was “one of the most aggressive” he could remember. He also intimated that one of his other high-powered clients Manny Ramirez wants a long-term deal.

Hot-stove heating up! Peavy approves Yanks/Angels.

It has only been one day at the GM meetings however many new stories have come up. According to MLB Trade Rumors Padres Ace Jake Peavy has approved trades to 2 AL teams the LA Angels and the New York Yankees. In the past Peavy has stated that he would prefer to stay in the NL and that he was a small-town guy not keen on the big city. This news is sure to set off a fire storm of trade ideas and radio call-ins. My take is that Peavy is a tremendous pitcher who has won a Cy Young and can dominate a ball game. However he is just not a NY kind of guy and the last thing I want is a guy who hates it here and only competes because his contract says he has to. Would I want him on the Yanks yeah sure I would but would he want to be on the Yankees that is the more important question. In other news CC's agent Greg Genske was at the GM meetings today and said his client has an open mind and that he will listen to all offers, he also said that CC doesn't want the process to drag on through the off-season and he will make his decision as soon as he has made up his mind. This means one thing the Yanks will not have until January to wine and dine CC they must make their initial offer an offer he can't refuse.

GM meetings under way.

The GM meetings are underway out in sunny California. The GM meetings are NOT the winter meetings so basically it will be a bunch of executives posturing about their players and shmoozing with other GM's. According to Pete Abraham the hot topic is as usual the Yankees and the possible earth shattering moves they plan to make this off-season. Many believe the Yankees will simply take the money coming off the cap this year and give it to top free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, and AJ Burnett. Although that move would sure up a ton of the Yankees issues, it isn't very fiscally responsible especially given Burnett's injury history. As a fan I would love to see this happen because after all its not my money being spent and those 3 additions would make us the best team in the division in my opinion. The Rays are very young and extremely talented, however they are just that very young for some reason I don't see them being that much better than the rest of the best division in baseball. The Red Sox are the Red Sox we all know they will be a good team, it is up to the Yankees to be the better team.

A rotation of CC Sabathia, Chien Ming Wang, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain looks great on paper and to rival the Rays young guns and Boston's Lester/Beckett/Dice-K three headed monster those moves just might be necessary to keep the Yanks at the top of the pack. Following several months of anonymous reports stating that "CC wants to stay in the NL and in California" it will be interesting to see what the man himself decides to do. It truly seems like a case of "love or money" and I for one am hoping greed prevails.

A slow start to a long off-season.

Following the Yankees first playoff-less season in the past 13 years many Yankee fans have been forced to spend their October pondering the 09 edition of the bombers instead of watching our boys go deep into the Autumn bliss. Hot stove has been smoldering for us for the past 5 weeks while other fans have been rooting for their teams in the post-season.

This year was a reminder that I believe this team needed, a reminder that the playoffs are not a given they are a privilege that must be earned. Although it is thought that wearing a pinstriped jersey and playing on the same field as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio means you should make the post-season every year this is simply not the case as the Yanks sat at home while other younger more athletic teams reveled in the October spotlight. However this off-season leaves many question marks as to who is going to be donning the pinstripes next season and who will be looking for a job. As of this moment it appears the Yanks are going to decline the options of Carl Pavano(yuck) and Damaso Marte, 2 moves that I agree with. The Yanks bullpen was solid this year and with Phil Coke's emergence as a viable lefty option and with young lefties looming down on the farm there isn't a need to pay Marte several million dollars to be a lefty match-up guy.

The most glaring holes this off-season are in the rotation and at first base. The prime free agent target this off-season has to be CC Sabathia a dominant lefty in his 20's on the brink of his prime should be given a very attractive offer. Following the big fish there is Mark Teixiera and AJ Burnett. In a perfect world it would be convenient to say "We're the Yankees, lets sign them all!", however there must be other options considered should we miss out on any of those players. Trade options at the head of my personal list are Indians 1B Ryan Garko, and Royals CF David Dejesus. This off-season is sure to be long and very drawn-out however the hot-stove is finally here and we can officially start dreaming of our 09 potential.