Please don't trade Montero!

[1] I'll second that.

I have to imagine that with a mystery that actually has CLUES, there has to be some kind of payoff.

or sticking w/ Diane's references in the other thread from today:

"Who Are You?!"

i liked the Lilly possibility. i'm gonna guess one of Leche/Gritner gets gone...

fuck. chip "fisted" caray is indeed coming back to the braves. not with turner, now with fox sports south. FUCK!!! i've gotta deal w/ that tool for 105 freaking games next year. goddamn sunuva... : /

I'll third, fourth and fifth that! Now Off To Bed Zzzzz....

YANKEES SIGNED A PLAYER!!!

via mlb trade rumors:

The Yankees signed catcher Mike Rivera to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Rivera had been non-tendered by the Brewers on the December 12th deadline.

Rivera, 33, hit .228/.326/.342 in 132 plate appearances this year as Jason Kendall's backup, missing time with an ankle sprain. He caught 271 innings. If the Yankees give big league playing time to Rivera and are happy with his performance, they can retain him in future seasons as an arbitration-eligible player.

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let's hope this isn't 'coz Montero was traded!!!!!!!!

[7] I can't even imagine who Montero would be traded for. You would think that would rule out the Braves and Cubs, right? Unless they don't see Montero as a catcher?

Haha, nice post, Cliff. Did Alex show you my blog or something? With this vid and the recent addition of Stop Making Sense to your front page links (thanks again!), I'm beginning to think you guys are crazy Talking Heads fans like I am. This is definitely one of my favorite early-era Heads tracks. If you have the opportunity, pick up "The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads", a 2-disc live compilation that encompasses their entire career. In my opinion, it eclipses Stop Making Sense (the album, not my blog) as a live document. The performances are just outstanding and the liner notes are totally geekworthy Heads material.

Don't trade for Derek Lowe!

[7] Cashman, GM of the year!! Man, I need some baseball..this Hot Stove crap is just not doing it..going to take some comfort with a new Bobby Hutcherson album I just acquired and dream of spring (it's cold here now, too..)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ben_reiter/12/21/mariners/index.html?eref=sihp

Anyone care to count how many things are wrong in this article??

Thank the gods for the Banter, analysis here so far exceeds the mainstream pundits..

I don't think the catcher pick-up means they're trading Montero. There are lots and lots of catchers in our system -- if they were worried about replacing Montero, then they'd be prepping Romine.
Also, Montero has just been moved up to AAA. I guess that could be a way of advertising his value, but it seems kind of pointless if he's about to be traded.

As to what pitcher they're after: Oswalt?

[9] I am a crazy Talking Heads fan, and I have The Name of This Band . . . (my mom had it on vinyl), and I agree it's their best live album.

[12] Rivera is just an organizational backstop, he has no impact on Montero or anyone else.

I have not heard about our bench yet.
I assume Molina is gone and Cervelli is in?
What about Hinske? The guy was pretty good for us.
JHJr? Is he gone for Pena?

[14] Yes on Cervelli. Hinske and Hairston are free agents. I don't expect either to return.

And can anyone tell me why Lowe's name is even being mentioned as a possible Yankee? Is not his current contract one of the worst? A 2009 1.5 WHIP and 88 ERA+ in the NL? With 3/$45 remaining? With the Yankees being untypically money conscious?

Is he an innings eater? Well, I guess. But really, every healthy pitcher is, if you can stand their ERA.

And why would the Braves trade Vaquez... unless they got someone really substancial in return? And why would we trade ANY decent farm hands (and we don't have many left) when next years FA Pitchers looks prettty good? I have to guess there will be plenty of league average pitchers available in July on the cheap.

[16] And can anyone tell me why Lowe’s name is even being mentioned as a possible Yankee? Is not his current contract one of the worst?

You just answered your own question! Everyone is linked to the Yankees, it seems, especially players with bad contracts. Moreover, writers seem infatuated with the idea of the YAnkees trading Swisher for....well anyone, just trade him.

Apparently Cashman wasn't as close as all the Twerps thought he was.

If he is actually working on a deal, the two trading partners that make the most sense are the Cubs and Giants. We know Cashman recently talked to Chicago, but found the Zambrano price too high. The Cubs, who probably would like to shed a little payroll, but more importantly need a CF, might have then suggested Ted Lilly. I would be surprised if Cashman would offer much more than Melky or Gardner. Personally, I wouldn't deal Melky for one year of Lilly, but he would still be a good pickup.

A second alternative has the Giants, who just lost out on Nick Jonshon, being desperate for offense. Meanwhile, after signing NJ, the Yankees find out Damon will take less money. So, perhaps, with NJ's consent, they offer him and a prospect to SF for a pitcher. The Yankees have toyed with trading for Jonathan Sanchez (for Matsui was one rumor) in the past, so he could be the target. Another variant could have Swisher going in the deal, with the Yankees planning to replace him with Damon. Of course, the optimist in me holds out hope that someone how the Yankees are able to pry away Matt Cain.

[16] Lowe is better than the pitcher he was last year...if the Braves were desperate enough to eat half the contract, be wouldn't be a bad option. As for Vazquez, the reason they are considering trading him is because (1) he will net the biggest return; and (2) he's a free agent after 2010. Also, his 2009 was more of an outlier, so it might be the time to seel high.

I hope he's trading for Roy Oswalt. That dude's a machine.

[13] was never a Talking Heads fan, despite being an audiophile. But then about a year ago the keyboardist in my band insisted that I borrow and watch Stop Making Sense. Goddamn, it was awesome! A great concert, and they make some hot music.

[18] Doesn't the CBA state that a FA player you just signed, must be on your roster for a specified period of time before you can even trade him. I thought it was usually till June 1st. So NJ is not eligible to be traded, with or without his consent. I thought that was the case, correct me if I'm wrong.

[20] Oswalt is a good pitcher, but his numbers seem to be going in the wrong direction. Can he pitch in the AL East? I guess he can be a decent 3rd/4th starter. Probably not much else.

[21] I believe, but am not certain, that he can still be dealt with his consent. If he was seriously considering the Giants in the first place, and the Yankees told him that they are on the verge of resigning Damon and that could limit his playing time, perhaps Johnson would be more than happy to accept the quick turnaround.

[21] Here's the most relevant passage I could fine:

"Any Club signing a contract after the expiration of the election
period with a Player under this Section B may not assign his
contract until after the next June 15. However, notwithstanding the
foregoing, such contract may be assigned for other Player contracts
and/or cash consideration of $50,000 or less prior to the next June
16 if the Player gives written consent to such transaction."

[24] That shit sounds confusing. Who writes that shit? I don't really see that scenario you mention ever playing out, I can't think of any player that was acquired as a FA and was immediately traded before the season even starts.

I remember the Royals having to wait a specified period of time before they could even think about trading Jose Guillen. And that was after the season started.

[24] that makes sense - i presume the $50K clause is to prohibit an evil spender like the yankees from signing a fa and trading that player to another team but picking up a large chunk of their salary

i do not think i can take harrang rumors any longer - i hope to god the mets (or some other idiots) trade for him

one underrated part if the trade is for josh johnson - girardi will have his former marlin player and the unlucky one will have experience more bad luck

Joel Sherman says Yanks are chasing down Javy Vazquez.

[27] That's awesome. I still think Javy was given a raw deal, now he gets to prove himself again as a 3rd starter in the rotation this time.

I always loved Javy and Nick Johnson. If they manage to keep Swisher, I'll be a heppy fen.

[27] [28] And especially nice for Diane -- 53 Scrabble points in one player!

[25] Lawyers write it...like everything they do, it is designed to require another lawyer to understand.

[28] i agree - i have always liked javy and i think he wasn't given much of a chance - and his drop off the second half of his yankee season was injury related

Javy would be a nice addition, depending (of course) on what they give up. Having said that, we need to realize that the 2009 Javy is not likely to be the one that we see. Instead, it's more likely that the Yankees will be getting a solidly league average pitcher who can give you 200+ innings, which is valuable. Still, if his expectations are raised off of last season, he could fall into the same trap as he did in 2003.

Heyman, as he is famous for, has piggybacked on someone else's scoop. According to rotoworld, "Jon Heyman has confirmed that the Yankees are 'closing in on a deal' for Braves right-hander Javier Vazquez."

The Yankees have agreed to trade Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and a minor leaguer to the Braves for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.

-- Mark Feinsand

It all comes full circle...about this time 6 years ago, I was trying to park my car amid mounds of snows when I heard about the Nick Johnson for Javy Vazquez deal on the radio. Now, the snow is still here and the Yankees could wind up with both players. At least this time, the move doesn't spell the end of Andy Pettitte.

[35] Mike Dunn was very popular this offseason. Kind of breaks my heart to see Melky go...was really hoping it would be Gardner. Now, I think the Yankees have to go out and get a left fielder...perhaps this spells the return of Damon.

Good luck Melky...I hope he becomes a star.

[35] If that is the deal, that is a steal. I will gladly take that.

But I have two concerns: who plays LF now, and (to me more importantly) who gets bumped from the rotation, Joba or Phil? I'm not really worried about LF, just curious - but the pitching, I am worried about. I think it ends up being Hughes, but that is very sad to me, because he needs more innings if he's ever going to be a starter. Now if Giradi makes him the long-man, my concerns are lessened, but still . . .

new post, btw.

[35] The end of the Melk man. Wow!

[33] But what that does is it gives us a very good 1 - 4. Everyone from 2 - 4 will be league average or better, CC is obviously the ace. I'm really liking this move. Sad to lose Melky, but that's business.

[35] pobrecito - i don't want melky to go

[33] yeah good to point out william.
last year was the first year his hr/9 was below 2 (1.8) - which though i don't think he was really home run javy, he will have a tough time repeating
his bb/9 tied a career low at 1.8 - he obviously needs to keep that around his career average or better

[38] LF is now a real hole. The Yankees do not have anyone to play it.

As for the rotation, it was clear over the past week that the Yankees had absolutely no intention of trusting both Joba and Phil in the rotation this season (Cashman all but said as much). I think the plan is actually pretty clear. Joba, who no longer has a limit, will start in the rotation and Hughes, who does have a limit, will start in the pen. If Joba doesn't put it all together in the first half, the roles will be swapped. I think that's a smart plan regardless because you simply can not have Hughes be a 140 IP starter...it will be the same disaster that Joba was this year.