I want Les Nessman to read this post aloud … but I’ll settle for you reading it to yourself:

• ESPN.com has its baseball writers making early predictions for 2009, and some Yankees figure prominently, like CC Sabathia:

As he neared signing with the Yankees, Sabathia got a message from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein telling him how much Epstein respected him for putting aside free agency to try to bring Milwaukee a championship. Some look at what Sabathia has done the past two seasons — from Opening Day to the playoffs: 36 wins, 513 innings pitched, 69 starts — and worry about what that means to his long-term career. The Yankees look at him and see what they most need: the model of reliability.

• Also as part of those predictions, Tim Kurkjian states that the Yanks will be “must-see TV”:

“It will be fun to watch,” one baseball executive said. “All the Yankee lovers will love them even more because they’re really good. The Yankee haters will hate them even more for just buying all the best players. I’d have done the same thing if I were them. We’ll see if it works.”

• In an MLB.com article, Brian Cashman lets us know what he thinks of the starting rotation right now:

“It’s a long season and we’re in the American League East, which is by far the toughest division in the game,” Cashman said. “I think if we can add one more piece to that rotation, it would be beneficial. But it doesn’t absolutely have to go that way.”

• Over at the Times, Tyler Kepner votes for Joba Chamberlain to be in the starting rotation:

… the Yankees already have a lights-out setup man: Brian Bruney. In 31 games from the bullpen last season, Bruney’s earned run average was 1.95, and opponents hit .153. In 30 games from the bullpen last season, Chamberlain’s E.R.A. was 2.31, and opponents hit .211. So, Bruney was actually better. Besides, if the Yankees make the playoffs, Chamberlain will probably have thrown so many innings as a starter that he’ll have to be a reliever in October, anyway. Chamberlain has the stuff to be an elite starter, and Bruney has the stuff to be an elite setup man …

• Kepner also details the on-going saga of Andy Pettitte and the $10 million offer for 2009, which Andy has supposedly rejected:

At 36 and a father of four, Pettitte has taken a year-to-year approach to his career. The Yankees let him take his time in deciding whether to exercise a one-year option after the 2007 season, and he waited until early December, just before the release of the Mitchell report.

Pettitte did not tell the Yankees that he might be included in the report, which said he had used human growth hormone. Pettitte admitted his use and the Yankees supported him publicly. But his performance suffered in the second half of the season, when he usually gets stronger, and he admitted his distracting off-season might have been a factor.

• Mark Teixeira will indeed be introduced to the New York media at a press conference Tuesday.  Newsday reports that Tex won’t be getting uni number 23.
• USA Today assembled an All-Star roster for 2009 with the proviso that the total salary couldn’t be higher than the median team salary in 2008.  There were enough “pre-arbitration” bargains on the roster to allow for the deserved choice of Mariano Rivera as cl0ser.
• Jason Giambi appears to be headed towards a return to the A’s, likely signing a one-year deal later this week.
• The Rays made their first significant free agent move in defending their A.L. crown, signing Pat Burrell to a two year, $16 million deal.

• Along with recuperating from TJ surgery, reliever Sergio Mitre will now be serving a 50-game suspension for:

… using a legal supplement that, unknown to him, contained a trace amount of androstenedione, a steroid precursor, ESPN.com reported.  Mitre said in a statement Monday night that he purchased the supplement at a GNC store in Florida.

[My take: Maybe I’m a bit naive, but if a legal supplement contains an illegal substance, how can it still be a “legal supplement”.  Sounds like Mitre is getting a bit of a raw deal.]

• Happy 58th birthday to Don Gullett, who went 14-4 in his only full season (1977) for the World Series champion Yankees.  Gullett’s came up with the Reds in 1969 as a 19-year-old, and logged 217, 134 (part-time starter), 228 and 243 in his first four full seasons (ages 20-23).  The wear and tear at such a young age was probably the cause for his shortened career, as his last game was in 1978.  He ended with a career mark of 109-50.
• Happy 73rd birthday to Ruben Amaro, who spent parts of three unremarkable seasons with the post-dynasty Yankees.  The Yankees traded Phil Linz (infamous for the “harmonica incident“) for Amaro.
• On this date in 1967, Johnny Keane passed away, less than one year after being relieved of his duties as manager of a 4-16 (!) Yankees team (after going 77-85 in 1965).
• On this date in 1988, free agent slugger Jack Clark signs with the Yankees.
• On this date in 1992, the Bombers sign outfielder Danny Tartabull to a five-year contract.

And finally … happy 40th birthday to a big-time Yankee fan and good friend of mine, Jeremy Frank.