Yanks back in on Garcia

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees and the Mets are Freddy Garcia’s two primary suitors (although there are 2 other teams in the fray). Garcia would be a solid and cheap acquisition for pitching depth. It can’t hurt to scoop him up.

Awkward

From the Stamford Times:

STAMFORD — Put Stamford resident Lou Potter on the list of the latest to sign a big league contract with the New York Yankees.

Potter, a massage therapist by trade, recently signed a one-year deal with the 26-time World Champions to be the team’s director of massage therapy.

His contract may not rival the multi-million dollar deals of Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia — who both joined the Yankees this offseason — but the owner of Knead a Massage Clinic on Berrian Road in Stamford is still excited.

“I’ve been a Yankee fan my whole life,” said Potter. “The history, the tradition; I love everything about it. To be a part of that is unbelievable.”

Can you imagine giving a massage to CC Sabathia? I can, which could mean several things about my character, but at least I know that such an experience wouldn’t be very pleasant (for me). Maybe that’s why they let Chris Britton go? Hmmm…

Argh, ESPN…

From USA Today:

One of the longest-running acts in TV sports is getting a new cast member. ESPN will formally announce Wednesday that Steve Phillips will join Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, who’ve called ESPN’s Sunday night baseball for 19 years.

God help us. It could make for an interesting drinking game, however (chug your beer whenever Joe Morgan says anything remotely interesting, take a shot whenever he and Steve Phillips have an awkward moment, funnel a 40 whenever Steve Phillips says anything good about the Yankees… the latter will be few and far between).

DVD winner

Thanks to everyone who emailed me an answer about IPK’s changeup. Basically, IPK uses a vulcan grip when throwing his change, similar to Eric Gagne. Kevin was the first to email me so he is the winner. Also, feel free to check out Kevin’s Yankee blog and be on the lookout for the next iYankees contest in a few weeks!

KR talks Cruz, Pettitte, Sheets, CF

From Ken Rosenthal (FOXSports):

The Yankees aren’t done. And if they’re smart, they will sign free-agent right-hander Ben Sheets to be their fifth starter and righty Juan Cruz to be a setup reliever.

The extent of the Yankees’ interest in Sheets and Cruz is not known, but even after adding CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Damaso Marte, the team continues to explore the markets for both starters and relievers.

Sheets, while a physical risk, could be the Yankees’ answer to Brad Penny and John Smoltz, both of whom signed with the Red Sox for relatively low base salaries with the chance to earn significantly more through incentives.

Cruz, a Type-A free agent, makes more sense for the Yankees than he does for any other club. Mark Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett were higher-ranked free agents, so Cruz would cost the Yankees only a fourth-round draft pick.

The team’s priority, however, remains free-agent lefty Andy Pettitte, who rejected an offer of a one-year, $10 million contract yet appears to have no other alternatives.

SI.com, citing a baseball source, reported Tuesday that Pettitte is weighing a lesser offer to return to the Astros. However, Astros GM Ed Wade told FOXSports.com, “I haven’t had any discussions with Andy or any of his representatives at all. We’re up against our (budget) number right now.”

The possibility of the Yankees re-signing Pettitte can not be dismissed until the team fills his spot in the rotation. But Sheets and Cruz combined probably would not cost the Yankees much more than $10 million.

At the moment, the Yankees are committed to paying $187.975 million to 17 players, according to salary information compiled from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts web site.

That number would climb above $190 million if the Yankees spent $10 million more on pitching and followed through on their plan to trade Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher. But the payroll still would be below last season’s Opening Day figure of $209 million.

The question, then, is which pitchers the Yankees will choose — and whether they will sign another catcher to protect against the possibility that Jorge Posada recovers slowly from shoulder surgery.

The Yankees showed early interest in Sheets, then backed off after signing Sabathia and Burnett. Like other teams, they’re concerned about Sheets’ late-season elbow trouble and history of injury. But at the right price, Sheets would be a reasonable gamble.

That price, one executive predicts, will be in the $6 million to $8 million range for one year, with incentives that could push the total value past $14 million. A lucrative club option also might be part of the package.

The Yankees would prefer greater reliability, particularly when Burnett and Joba Chamberlain already are physical concerns. Pettitte, based on his track record, stands a better chance than Sheets of pitching 200 innings. But what would be the worst-case scenario if Sheets blew out? Phil Hughes or a mid-season trade.

Cruz would fill perhaps a bigger void. The Yankees aren’t convinced that he would be a slam-dunk setup man. But Marte, a left-hander, and Brian Bruney, a righty, aren’t slam-dunk setup men, either.

The Yankees, adamant about Chamberlain staying in the rotation, need to build a better bridge to closer Mariano Rivera. Cruz is coming off two excellent seasons with the Diamondbacks. Only the Rays’ Grant Balfour had a higher strikeout rate among major-league relievers in 2008. If the price for Cruz is say, two years, $10 million, how could the Yankees walk away?

They couldn’t. They wouldn’t. They’re not done yet.

Just a few quick comments in relation to KR’s post.

1. If Andy Pettitte joins the Astros for less than $10 million, I will boo the shit out of him for the rest of my life. Andy is acting like a scorned lover. Dude, you’re integrity is already shot. Hell, I don’t know if I like you now and you haven’t even made a decision.

2. If the Yankees can sign Juan Cruz on a 2-year deal, I’d take it. I don’t really think it’s necessary, but you can’t argue with cheap talent. This team has money and when you have money, there’s no greater time to use it than when the market hits rock bottom. Brian Cashman should at least make a move on Adam Dunn, if not Cruz.

3. If the Yankees can sign Ben Sheets for $6 million, I’d take it. If he wants something higher, go back to Andy (unless he clowns us and opts for Houston). If the concerns over his elbow are minor then there is no reason for Sheets to be available when the Yankees need pitching. For this reason, I believe that the concerns aren’t minor, because the Yanks would have gotten him already. However, maybe Brian Cashman is so used to making big-money deals, he forgot how to construct a measly $6 million contract.

4. Finally, KR says that the Yankees are pleased with Melky’s progress this winter and are fine with a CF situation that features both he and Brett Gardner. They’re looking to go with defense over offense, it seems.

Posada problem pt.2

RAB has a good post up regarding the potential Posada problem. Here’s a key portion of the text (by Joe):

We saw last season that Jose Molina cannot handle the rigors of full-time duty. His bat is a liability, though his defense is stellar. Kevin Cash provides similar offense, though I can’t vouch for his defense one way or another. If Posada can’t catch, the Yanks will likely have the equivalent of a pitcher batting ninth.

In the end, the conclusion is that we need Jorge Posada and the offense is extremely reliant upon his production. It would be terrible if he could not catch (at all). While we all agree with this notion, I do wonder if we’re reading too much into the Posada issue (a Buster Olney post is only adding fuel to the fire). Jorge won’t be ready for the exhibition opener in February, but, according to Cashman, he will be ready for the regular season opener in April.

Even if Cashman is lying or embellishing a bit, there’s really no need to panic, at least not yet. For now, let’s assume that Jorge will be back behind the plate at some point but he’ll need more time. Jose Molina and Kevin Cash are terrible offensively, however, again performance is only relative to one’s position. In the AL East, the Red Sox have nobody behind the dish, the Orioles will likely give the bulk of their catcher AB’s to prospect Matt Wieters (great young player that hasn’t played above AA ball), the Rays have Navarro and the Jays will probably split time between Curtis Thigpen and Rod Barajas. So, when situated within an AL East context, what are we worrying about? It seems like these guys have more to worry about than we do (let’s not forget the Tigers, Mariners, A’s and Royals).

As long as Jorge Posada can spend a relatively significant amount of time behind the plate then we’ll get ample production and then some (from his position). Until we learn otherwise (I’m talking tangible information) I’m not really worried about it.

Cool or not cool?

Spike Lee was seen wearing the follow NYY cap. It’s got fuzzy ear flaps that fold down and is rather flamboyant, but hey, I’d wear it.