Yankees

1. Trade Burnett to the Cubs for Zambrano: Classic my problem for yours…Sabathia will be good for Zambrano…the NL will be good for Burnett..he will be comeback player of the year in the NL
2. Trade Eduardo Nunez and Jesus Montero to the Braves for Mike Minor and Jason Heyward; Braves need a shortstop and have plenty of outfield depth. Plus, a young player like Montero gives them options and a potential big bat. Braves are LOADED with pitching; Yanks get Minor – a 23 year old lefthander and Heyward. Heyward had a disappointing sophmore year in every department. But he’s left handed, big, has oodles of power, and a cannon for an arm. Perfect Yankee right fielder.
3. Sign C.J. Wilson. I don’t love Wilson – but I think he will flourish in NY. I don’t know why – just a gut feeling.
4. Sign Grady Sizemore: He’s still only 29. When healthy, he can be an offensive force. So, let him DH.
5. Chamberlain gets healthy and goes back to bullpen
6. See what you can get for Phil Hughes

2012 Yanks

1. Sabathia LHP
2. Zambrano RHP
3. Wilson LHP
4. Nova RHP
5. Minor LHP

 Lineup

1. Jeter SS 
2. Granderson CF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Cano 2B
5. A-Rod 3B
6. Heyward RF
7. Sizemore DH
8. Martin C
9. Gardner LF

Cervelli is an idiot. But Lackey started the game dinging Granderson. Red Sox pitchers usually don’t need a reason to hit Yankee players, they just hit them whenever they feel like it.

It was good to see Sabathia grit out the win and….AND…..get ticked for Lackey hitting Cervelli. The saga continues tonight…where I think Beckett will definitely hit someone.

In a nutshell:

1. Portrayed AJ’s starts as adding value but not earning the amount of money he’s being paid. Said he’s not “Oliver Perez”
2. When asked why he defends AJ and not Posada, he said something to the effect of AJ not behaving in an “indefensible” way.
3. He thinks Posada has been treated fairly and given “plently of rope”
4. He said we “kneel and genuflect to our iconic players for what they did in the past, but the past can help us in the present and future”
5. He doesn’t care if A-Rod gambles legally. In regard to him going to Mohegan Sun in PA…he responded, “Great! They’re a sponsor”
6. Wants to remain with Yankees for as long as Yankees want him.

Now is the time to be aggressive on Felix Hernandez. Nova, Betances, and Montero should get it done. Banuelos stays.

1. Winning
2. Watching an enjoyable ballgame (closely tied to winning)
3. Winning

I’m a fan. Not an investor.

The players you reference that “helped make the franchise a money making juggernaut,” are also multi-millionaires. I’m not going to feel bad for these people. Jeter, Posada, et al all replaced other ball players whose effectiveness and usefulness ran the natural course.  It’s life…and business. The major difference with these guys is that they will never need to work again in their lifetime. The players of old were not afforded the golden parachute that protects/protected Posada, Jeter, A-Rod, Rivera, Bernie, O’Neil, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

If I pull a stunt at my own job like the one Posada pulled….I get fired. But Posada and the others are so wealthy, so entitled, and have egos so massive that they have lost complete perspective. So, Posada can pull a sophomoric stunt like the one he pulled…and have the luxury of knowing his family’s future will not be impacted.

Posada should feel embarrassed, not “disrespected.” For years the Yankees have penciled him in behind the plate despite his defensive liabilities. If his ego wasn’t so massive, he would be capable of recognizing and understanding that fact.

I’d prefer to see these guys happily walk away from the game in good standing rather than watch them become shells of their former selves.

• Jeter is a shell of his former self. He doesn’t belong at the top of the lineup. And when a player is as offensively ineffective as Jeter…his defense play better be excellent. Especially at shortstop. He is merely marginally effective as a defensive shortstop.
• Posada’s lack of offensive production is compounded by his huge ego and immaturity.  He has become a clubhouse cancer. What a baby. He asked out of the lineup??? Dude, you’re not even hitting .170!!! You’re lucky they let you hit at BP let alone get at-bats in a game.
• Teixeira = one of the most streaky hitters I’ve ever seen.
• A-Rod: He’s got such a robotic swing and is a shell of his former self. He’s been on the decline, but I think it will be more exaggerated from this point forward.
• Swisher: The fun guy act doesn’t work when you can’t hit. He should have been traded at the peak of his value as I suggested last year.
• Gardner: What good is all that speed when you don’t steal any bases?????
• Cano: streaky
• Sabathia will, and should, opt out at the end of the year. I would.

This is all all or nothing team that will be lucky to finish in third place this year.

There are too many fat cat stars on this team. At this point, I would release Posada. Bring up Montero and let him hit in the DH spot. This team needs some youth to give it a shot of energy. A la Shelly Duncan a few years ago.  Jeter needs to be dropped in the lineup. Forget sentimentality…

If Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia can pitch in the Yankee rotation….so can Zambrano. Go get him.

My Evil Empire team needs to win tonight…..and convincingly. JB out…

I’m watching “Yankees 2011: Pride, Power, and Pinstripes.”  This is the preview show that the YES Network developed for the 2011 season.  And the name is “pride, power, and pinstripes?” Man-o-man that makes me want to gag.

Why not just call it…”Yankees 2011:  We have more money and rings than you do”

After an offseason that Cashman himself called a failure…and the fact that he was overruled on Soriano… tells you that he, ownership, or both will want to make a splash.  Nothing is off limits at this point…

I’m not saying that any of these are realistic, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the Yanks aquired King Felix, or Matt Cain (If San Fran is out early), or Johan Santana (Unlikely with the recent news that he may be out fo the year),  or something as bold and controversial as aquiring Hanley Ramirez (To really stick it to the Red Sox). I can hear Cashman saying something like, “When you have an opportunity to aquire a player like Hanley, you do it, and figure out how to handle the ramifications after the fact.” Let Hanley spell A-Rod at third and Jeter at short while those guys spend time as the designated hitter. I actually think Hanley is too big to be a shortstop for his career.  I could see him in right field with that cannon for an arm.

The only deal that would truely shock me would be a Teixeira for Pujols swap.   

I think something big is on the horizon this July.

Now that it’s on my brain…imagine a lineup with Hanley Ramirez…especially if Montero lives up to expectations!!

1. DH Jeter
2. 2B Cano
3. 1B Teixeira
4. 3B A-Rod
5. SS H-Ram
6. C Montero
7. RF Swisher
8. CF Granderson
9. LF Who cares!!!

As for Cliff Lee calling the Yankees “old”…. as dumb as that comment was…it  is exactly what the Yankees need to hear. The players, Cashman, and ownership are going to be more motivated than ever – if that’s even possible. Rather, they’ll have a jagged chip on their collective shoulders.

If I’m Cliff Lee…the last thing I want is to face the Yankees in the World Series. That “old” comment will be splashed all over compounded by his lack of postseason success. What kind of an idiot would light a fire under the New York Yankees???