WHY THE YANKEES NEED THE HUNGER AGAIN

It’s the off-season early for the New York Yankees and all of us Yankee fans are walking around aimlessly with nothing to do. Yes, we could watch the postseason without the Yankees, and yes, I’ve told you numerous times that if baseball is on, I watch, no matter who’s playing.

But let’s face it, this is October and the Yankees aren’t playing, and I don't want to watch. I want to scream like Mark Wahlberg in the Other Guys, I cannot take it. Sometimes I feel like the more we try to do things right, the more we screw them up. The Yankees need that hunger back and the fans are craving it.

The Yankees looked like scrubs out there as I reflect on the ALDS, with the exception of Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner and even Derek Jeter to some extent. Where was the hunger? Where were the bats? I firmly believe that hot teams move forward and it all has to do with momentum. I don't necessarily believe great teams win it all. I think great teams need to be hot to win it all. The Yankees were great with 97 wins going into the ALDS, but they weren't great and hot, plain and simple. Now all we’re doing is sitting in front of our computers, looking at Twitter and bitching at each other.

I long for the days when Steinbrenner would put out a press release, thanking the Yankee fans for their support and apologizing for failing to win it all. Then, weeks later, we’d go out and find the top free agent out there and all would be well in Yankeeland again, we would forget, just for the moment, that we blew it.

Time is running out for some of our icons. Yes, Jorge Posada was close to possibly getting a 5^th ring, but we fell short. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are close to retirement; wouldn’t it be nice to get one for championship before they sail into the sunset? It would, for all of us.The pitching rotation will be a priority again this year, just like it is every year and while Cashman preached patience and picked up Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia and had lightening in a bottle, that charade won’t work this winter; fans get impatient, Yankee Brass gets impatient and I expect a big splash. Yes, Cashman needs to agree to a deal, but once that is done, CC Sabathia is next and then after what, who? I'm a fan of Mark Buehrle and I would love to get him, but who else? CJ Wilson? Matt Cain? Yu Darvish? Felix Hernandez?

Look, Felix is my top name after CC Sabathia. I’m not too big on “Pretty Boy” Wilson because I hate his pompous attitude. I’m also not sold on him. Matt Cain, yeah, he good, but we need him to be great. Yu Darvish…we’ve been through that Japanese pitching thing before. Felix Hernandez is the guy and if that means waiting until he’s a free agent, so be it; If it means being creative with you we unload for him, so be it. I have no desire to trade off someone like Jesus Montero for the King. After seeing him hit, it reminded me a hell of a lot like Miguel Cabrera. I can’t part with the guy.

Something needs to be done about Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Look, no doubt they are pissed that they didn’t deliver and they looked foolish in the ALDS, but let’s face it, they always do. 2009 is long gone, these guys get paid a fortune to perform, bottom line and October is the biggest show on earth, and they need to show up. They didn’t and it’s pathetic. If I’m the Yankees, I pick up Swisher’s option and I’m bringing in a bright young outfielder this spring and have him compete for Swisher’s job. Light a fire under Nick’s ass and let him know, no job is safe.

Alex is Alex and he’s owed a ton of money. You can’t eat his contract and you can’t trade him and the Yankees won’t, they want him to hit 700 and they want him the break the home run record in pinstripes... he’s not going anywhere. I also believe ARod wasn’t healthy and while nerves were a factor in the ALDS, he’s not better yet because of injury. Hopefully a long winter’s nap will heal this guy and in Spring 2012, he’ll be back.

Mark Teixeira seems to shrivel up at the wrong time...October. Not sure what happened to this guy. He’s a great hitter…when he hits, and I would never suggest we cut Tex lose for someone better, because; let’s face it, who’s better? Tex is one of the best defensive first basemen we’ve ever had; he just needs to get his swing tweaked by the King of Swing…Kevin Long. Maybe the pressure gets to Tex, who knows, but something‘s got to happen.

The Yankees hunger is gone while the hunger by the fans grows. We need something drastic, a shakeup… so we can stand up and say, “The Yankees put the best on the field and we will return to win it all.” Because, let’s face it, 1 championship in 11 years is not a dynasty, it’s average.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY I SMELL A TREND

Quick, what do Ivan Rodriguez, Jerry Hairston Jr., Eric Hinske, Austin Kearns, Kerry Wood, and Lance Berkman all have in common? If you guessed that they are former Yankees, you're correct. If you guessed that all of those guys were acquired by the Yankees near the trade deadline over the last three years you would be correct as well. But, there's one thing you may not have guessed, and that is all of those acquired players were on their respective final years of their contracts when they got traded. With the trade deadline just over a week away, I smell a trend. The Yankees like to trade for players who are free agents to be. In other words, they like to get rental players.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the upcoming Free Agents HERE.

Now, most of you can agree that the Yankees will look into starting pitching, although they have six major league starters (with Ivan Nova in AAA), but like the old saying goes, you can never have enough pitching. So, let’s look at the starting pitchers who are free agents to be, here are some intriguing names that would make sense:(Photo: SI)

Mark Buerhle and Edwin Jackson (Chicago White Sox)

Right now the White Sox have six major league starters with Buerhle and Jackson along with Phillip Humber, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Jake Peavy--but they're currently 4.5 games behind Cleveland and Detroit in the AL Central. The White Sox rank 10th in the American League in runs scored, so that's an area they do need to improve on if they want to make the playoffs. They'll be looking for a good bat in return for one of their starters. Both Buerhle and Jackson would be a good fit but I would take Buerhle over Jackson because he is a veteran, and has pitched in big games before. Jackson doesn’t have quite as much experience, although he's younger and he has nastier stuff.
(Photo: Getty)

Hiroki Kuroda(Los Angeles Dodgers) and Jason Marquis (Washington Nationals)

Realistically, both the Dodgers and Nationals are out of their respective races, and are already looking forward to Spring Training next year. The Dodgers have Hiroki Kuroda, and the Nats have Jason Marquis. Both of these guys are veterans and can get the job done, but personally, I like Hiroki Kuroda because he throws harder. His average fastball is about 92 mph, whereas Marquis throws a fastball averaging around 89mph. You can check out Kuroda's stats HERE here: and Marquis' stats HERE.

Ultimately, I think the Yankees really need an elite number two starter, like Ubaldo Jimenez, but the price is too high for him. Cashman is always a little reluctant to part with his prospects in a blockbuster trade. We'll see.

Now, most of you believe that the Yankees may need a reliever. Personally, I think the Yankees only need another lefty, and they probably have that guy in their organization with J.C. Romero. But, for kicks and giggles let's take a look at some of the upcoming free agent middle relievers who could be intriguing:

• John Grabow- Chicago Cubs

• Kerry Wood- Chicago Cubs

• Michael Wuertz- Oakland A's

This season, Grabow hasn't had a very good year he has a 5.36 ERA in 42 games, but he's been solid against lefties--holding them to a .238 batting average. Boone Logan has a .250 opponent batting average against lefties this year, and this used to be a lot higher. However, if used correctly Grabow could be a nice addition. Kerry Wood and Michael Wuertz are both quality setup men, but they're not better than what the Yankees have right now. Everyone remembers Wood last year with the Yankees, 0.69 ERA in 24 games and Michael Wuertz has 437 career strikeouts in 408 innings pitched.

All three of these guys aren't significantly better than what the Yankees have right now. Luis Ayala and Cory Wade both have ERA's in the 1's right now, and the Yankees have the second best bullpen ERA in the American League behind Oakland, with a 3.09 ERA. They also have David Robertson, who has been tough as nails, and Rafael Soriano (remember him?) who should be back in the near future.

What I really think the Yankees could use is a versatile bat off the bench. Eric Chavez may be coming back soon, but he's always injury prone and one more injury could very well finish his career. So with that in mind, let's take a look at some intriguing names:

• Juan Rivera (Los Angeles Dodgers)

• Jerry Hairston (Washington Nationals)

• Scott Hairston (New York Mets)

• Omar Infante (Florida Marlins)

I wouldn't mind having any of these guys. Obviously, none of these players stand out, but what bench player does? Juan Rivera and Jerry Hairston are both former Yankees, so it would be easy for them to be reintroduced with the team. Rivera can play corner outfield and first with some pop, while Hairston can play just about every position except catcher and pitcher, and he provides speed. Scott Hairston and Omar Infante are both very versatile options as well.

More to follow, stay tuned to Bleeding Yankee Blue.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer






--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Associate Editor




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE YANKEES?

Now that the All-Star break is over, what should the Yankees do to bring them to the next level?
Our Crosstown Rival, The Mets just traded away their closer Francisco Rodriguez for prospects to make the first deadline deal. The Mets are clearly in a rebuilding stage, and are trying to dump salary, but our Yankees are trying to figure out what it will take to bring them to the next championship.Let's take a look at which areas we need help with, and which possible candidates could be used to fill these voids:

• RELIEF: We are missing a solid 6th inning reliever. Joba Chamberlain went down with an injury earlier in the year, and David Robertson stepped up to take the 8th inning spot until RaSo comes back. Then, I think DRob will probably be moved back to the 7th inning spot, but who will be used to pitch in the 6th inning? I say call up someone from AAA or AA such as, Andrew Brackman, Lance Pendleton, or maybe even Mark Prior among others.

• TOP FLIGHT PITCHER: We are it and it could carry us through the playoffs if we had one. I say trade for someone such as Mark Buehrle or "Pretty Boy" CJ Wilson.

• EXTRA HITTING: Any team could always need another bat. I think having another person for some power or average is a threat in the lineup could really spice things up. I say trade for a 3 month rental and see how it pays out. My few candidates to trade for are Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Carlos Pena, or if a miracle were to happen, Albert Pujols.
  

IMAGINE this lineup:

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. Pujols/ Prince Fielder DH
4. A-Rod 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Teixeira 1B
7. Swisher RF
8. Martin C
9. Gardner LF

seems like Murderers Row 2.0, right?

Let me know what you think by commenting on this post or hitting me on Facebook. Or, if you have a blackberry you can add the Bleeding Yankee Blue group on BBM and we can converse in there. Thanks.



--Will Cohen, BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY BUEHRLE IN THE BRONX IS WEIRD, BUT POSSIBLE

The Yankees have actually managed to Frankenstein together a very successful rotation in spite of off-season failures and Hughes’ sudden drop in velocity. Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, and Bartolo Colon have all been incredibly pleasant surprises. Each of them have turned in a single bad outing a piece to go with a plethora of starts ranging from just quality to downright dazzling. (For the record, I don’t count Nova’s poor outing in Boston, he should’ve been out of that but Cano made a rare mistake to screw him over.) As for CC Sabathia, he was iffy the other day, but with a sub-3 ERA, he’s still shown he’s a true ace, and AJ Burnett is finally looking like what the Yankees signed him to be.

If nothing else, Garcia and Colon are eating innings and not forcing us to rush the young guys. But like a famous Sports Illustrated cover story about the Yankees’ early 2000s rotation once said, "...You can never have too much pitching."

Colon has looked like an ace in every single outing except for his last against Texas. Garcia has often made All-Star hitters look like high schoolers with no idea what they’re doing out there, but there’s no ignoring the fact that they’re both pretty old. They average out to be 35.5 years old, and neither of them is like Mo who never seems to age. Bartolo and Freddy show their age. They look older, move like they’re older, throw like they’re older and have a lengthy injury history like any aging athlete. That being said, they’ve done well, but due to the uncertainty of their future, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Yankees will at very least attempt to make a big trade to obtain a top of the line pitcher.

Let’s not sugar coat it, the White Sox have looked horrible this year without qualification. They currently stand at 13-22, good for last in the AL Central, and with a 2-8 record over the last 10 games, they don’t look like they’re making any great strides towards having a winning record, much less winning the division. Usually a team only gives up a great pitcher if they seem to be out of the race, and if the White Sox continue down this road, it would only make sense that the Chicago White Sox ace Mark Buehrle would be the perfect candidate for a trade. In fact, BYB's been talking about Buehrle for a while now, we like him. Read WHY YOU CAN'T BLAME CASH from February, or, WHY I'M IN A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND from back in December. How about WHY THERE'S NO JOY IN MUDVILLE, a smart piece that was posted once Cliff Lee decided he was afraid to pitch in New York. We think Buehrle would be perfect.

Now I know you're going to say that MLB Trade Rumors has a piece out about how the White Sox are not ready to make any major changes. read it HERE. I'm telling you, you just never know.Yes, the fact is, Buehrle is a Chi-town fan favorite. He's has thrown a no-hitter and a perfect game with the White Sox in his 11 years there and arguably the face of the franchise. It may seem unfathomable that a team would ever trade away their most popular player, but here’s the catch: Buehrle’s contract expires at the end of the season. There’s a $15 million vesting option that kicks in if he’s traded, so the Yankees could get him for an extra season, but if he’s not traded, he becomes a free agent at the end of the season and if we happen to come along and snatch him away with piles of cash and the promise of a championship, the Sox will have lost their ace and have nothing to show for it. If they trade him, they could get some solid prospects, maybe a Brackman, Heathcott, Noesi, and Nuñez, to brighten their future and essentially only lose 3 meaningless months with Buehrle. Then, when he hits free agency again after the 2012 season, they could try to bring him right back. There’s always the chance that he’d be huge in New York and we could offer him a monster contract to stay, but if the price was right, the Sox would gladly risk parting ways for good, and with the championship rings a trade to the Bronx would bring, I’m certain Buehrle would embrace it. In the past, he’s said he’s loved his time in Chicago but from here on out, it’s all about winning, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him ditch Chi-town for good.

To me, Buehrle simply appears to be one of those guys who’d fit in in the Bronx. He’s confident, but not cocky, he has experience pitching in a big city, has a ton of class, and has a few former teammates on the Yanks that could help ease him in (Garcia, Colon, Swisher, Jones, Logan). Perhaps just as important, Buehrle’s durable and a finesse oriented lefty. Sound familiar? It may be hard to fill the shoes of baseball's post-season all-time wins leader, but if there’s anyone that could really fill in the hole Andy Pettitte left, it’s Mark Buehrle.

With Sabathia as the only lefty in the rotation and Boone Logan the only LOOGY in the pen, the Yanks desperately need another lefty arm. Buehrle starts over 30 games per year, throws over 200 innings, and is a solid post-season performer (4.11 ERA, 2-1 record). Simply put, Mark Buehrle is a guy who knows what it takes to win. he is, dare I say, Yankee-esque.

There’s no guarantee the Yanks make the big splash on the trade market that everyone is expecting, but if the Yanks trade for anyone to bolster the rotation, I’d expect Buehrle to be one of the first names out there.



--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer



Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY YOU CAN'T BLAME CASH

Yes, we are in Spring Training and we don't have the rotation we want. You know Cashman hasn't settled, don't you? He's Brian Cashman, the best in the business. As long as we've known this guy, he's never settled. Late surprises and crazy moves come when we least expect it and this winter is no different. Why? How do I know... Because he's been in the mix for years. Think of it this way, every decent Free Agent he could gather, he's gathered. Minor League deals. Yes, a smart move. Now we have them competing with the youngsters, a competitive setting to kick each other's butt. It makes it more competitive and brings the best out of a pitcher.

Meanwhile, back in Yankeeland, Cashman's working the phones. Frank Russo of New York's Baseball Digest suggests that there are targets we don't even know about.

Tim Hudson: Hudson had a great season for the Braves last year on his long road back. He was 17-9 with a 2.83 ERA. The problem is, the Braves don't want to unload him, they like him and what he's provided.

Hiroki Kuroda: The Dodgers have him but are unwilling to part. Or, let's just say nothing really came of it. Last year he was 11-13 with a 3.39 ERA.

Mark Buehrle: My favorite choice. Buehrle would accept a trade to the right team, according to and you know Cashman won't pass up this lefthander. The big question is for who. I wrote about Buehrle back in December in posted like WHY THERE'S NO JOY IN MUDVILLE and WHY I'M IN A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND. He's a smart choice, a great pitcher. The problem is at what cost and for what prospects? While it's a hard position to be in, we'd get back on this investment for sure.

If you need to blame anyone for the Yankees shortcomings this winter, it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that it has nothing to do with Brian Cashman. He may not have given us what we need, but it's not for lack of trying. Back our GM ladies and gentlemen, let him work the phone, flick his magic wand and maybe, just maybe well see something happen. After all, I've been suggesting a February Surprise could happen, maybe it will.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY DOESN'T CASH LIKE SPENDING CASH?

It seems like the only off season move that Cashman disagreed with this year is the one that has the most impact on the Yankees upcoming season. It's Rafael Soriano. He insisted on not giving up a first round pick, and of course Hal, with the George genes in full effect, decides to make the team better by picking up Soriano. Great player, great move as far as I'm concerned. Cashman is trying to preach patience, but at the end of the day, he forgets one thing...We are the New York Yankees, the team with the highest payroll for 10+ years running. We aren't the Pirates and we damn sure aren't the Royals. We go after the best talent and we don't wait for the after thoughts to approach us.

Look, New York has the smartest and most active fans of any city in the world. We expect a winner on the field every single year. It seems to me that since the beginning of 2009 when King George really started to lose it, there haven't been any major deals. Think about this for a moment; After the 2008 off season spending extravaganza of CC, AJ and Tex, the Yankees have traded for or signed Jerry Hairston Jr., Javy Vazquez, Boone Logan, Curtis Granderson, Austin Kearns, Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, Rafael Soriano, Pedro Feliciano, and Russell Martin. 5 of these players are no longer with the team as a result of struggling teams getting rid of expiring contracts, and 3 of the 5 left on the Yankees are relief pitchers. Don't forget, a relief pitcher position is the position with the poorest contracts. That leaves us with Curtis Granderson, who we traded our top prospect Austin Jackson for, and Russell Martin. The Yankees have made no Free Agent or trading splashes since George left us mentally. And that is not meant to be disrespectful, that is fact. It doesn't look like the Yankees will be making any "splashes" this off season after losing out on Cliff Lee. Cashman is preaching patience, but with patience here are some potential moves that can be made mid-season, and in my opinion, should be made:

• Mark Buehrle: Chicago White Sox- He's getting up there in age and nearing the end of his prime, but is still one of the best in the game when his command is right and his pitches break.
• Chris Carpenter: St. Louis Cardinals- Former Cy Young award winner. Carpenter could bring some veteran leadership to the Yankees. 39 years old, but has not shown much of a decline since his Cy Young Season.
• Oliver Perez: New York Mets- Once one of the best prospects in the game. Looked great as a young Pirate, but the Mets ended up destroying another up-and-coming pitcher. Could seek a revival by hopping on the subway over to the Bronx. (I know The Mighty Casey disagrees.)
• Jose Valverde: Detroit Tigers- His windup and pitching style pisses me off as an opposing fan, but boy would I love to see those evil Red Sox look like little leaguers against his nasty change up. If we need some more help in the bullpen, he is the man to turn to.
• Juan Pierre: Chicago White Sox- "I used to run base like Juan Pierre, now I run the base high hat in the snare". Good line by our very own Jay-Z. Looks like other than Brett Gardner, the Yankees have been running the base high hat in the snare. We need speed.
• Jose Bautista: Toronto Blue Jays- Wow, would this be a splash! Last years MLB Home Run leader in the huge Rogers Center. Would he hit 60 in a year in the new Yankee Stadium? Perhaps.

These are some of the acquisitions I would recommend to the Steinbrenner's if I were the GM. This is based on the upcoming expiring contracts in the 2011-2012 off season. I like them, but of course I do, I picked them. What do you think?


Will Cohen BYB Freelance Writer




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY I'M IN A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

Since the unpleasant shock of Cliff Lee not coming to New York yesterday, and every Phillies fan acting like a bunch of tools from about 8am until 3pm toward any Yankee fan they saw, I'm starting to come out of my funk. It's going to be alright. So we didn't get Lee, so what. It's great that the Phillies got him and he's not on the Red Sox.

Cashman, at his press conference yesterday took offense to everyone getting on his ass for thinking he doesn't have a plan B, and you know what? I jumped on him too... fact. So I'll back off now and watch him work. Maybe he does have a plan, an ace up his sleeve we don't know about. So far, it been uneventful. A lot of minor league signings of pitchers coming off injury and a deal for a major league catcher coming off a .248 season named Russell martin. Oh, and it continues, Mark Prior just signed a minor league deal with the Yanks. See, progress is slow, not exciting, but slow and yes, we have $161 million to spend now that we didn't spend on Lee, so can we spend some of it please?

First off, for Relief:

• Kerry Wood: Reports are he wants 2 years, $12 million. We love Kerry Wood, plus we already have Former Cubs, Girardi, Mitre, Rothschild and Prior, why not finish off the set. Hell, give him $13 million. We love Kerry Wood.

For Starters:

• Carlos Zambrano: Did I say finish off the set and I didn't include Carlos Zambrano? Look Zambrano may have brought trouble to the Cubs clubhouse with his attitude, but he's still a horse. Now, I don't follow the National League as closely as my buddy Dan, but based on pure appearance, Carlos may be able to bring something to the table. Cashman's eyeing him, and I'm not quite sure what to make of this move yet, so, forgive me, I'll get back to you on this one.



• Freddy Garcia: A safe Free Agent pickup in my opinion. He's on the way back and the Yanks always liked him. The timing however hasn't ever been right. Did Garcia's good years pass him by? I guess the only wat to know is if we pick him up. With the White Sox last year, Garcia was 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA.



• Carl Pavano: um...no


• Felix Hernandez: Not a Free Agent but a trade situation. Can you imagine? Look, I see King Felix in pinstripes. We'd have to give Seattle the farm for him but look, if he won 14 games with that Seattle lineup, can you imagine what he would get with our lineup? Jon Heyman reports that the King has a no-trade clause to the Yankees, but money talks so we shall see.



• Mark Buehrle: The White Sox are listening, and hopefully Cashman's talking. I like this kid. He's a gamer and there's a lot of money in his contract over the next few years but we have a lot of dough to put towards that investment. I say it's worth it, plus we'd have to unload some of our farm system, maybe and outfielder but I tell you what, Buehrle would be a great addition to the New York Yankees. Buehrle had a 13-13 record last year with the Sox.




• Zack Greinke: All indications are the Yanks and Royals are having a dialog and Gardner's name keeps coming up. I like Greinke but not on the Yankees. But what do I know, I'm a blogger. There has been talk about trading for him, or waiting 2 years when he hits the free agent market. What would you do?


• James Shields: I like him, but everyone knows the Rays would never trade him within their own division. Pass.


• Matt Garza: a good number 4 for the Yanks, but a great number 5. Again, Rays are not parting with this guy if it means a trade in the eastern division.
  

The Yanks have choices. It's limited, yes, but there are names and quality out there, it's just going to be interesting how creative they get to get a pitcher for our slim rotation. Let's hope Pettitte comes back first. That's a big one, after that, it's gravy.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY THERE'S NO JOY IN MUDVILLE

What the hell just happened? Could it be that all the razzing against Jon Heyman's "mystery team" nonsense was inappropriate? Heyman was right. My apologies Mr. Heyman.

Well, it looks like the Phillies won the battle, although in fairness to the Yanks and Rangers, the Phillies showed up late to the party and played the "fond memories card" with Lee to get him. At the end of the day, they did and for only $100 million, that's $50 million less than the New York Yankees. Now the Yankees are embarrassed, sitting there with there dick in their hand and wondering what went wrong. We had the most money and the most years on the table. That was what Lee wanted right? Well, It didn't matter, we lost, and we didn't just lose today, we're about to lose more in the next few days and years unless we have a strategy to combat the evil Red Sox lineup in our division. The strategy we had failed. The Phillies just pulled a "Shock and Awe".

• Currently, the Yankees have our ace CC Monster. Got to love the dude, but how will he be after that "minor" knee surgery? Spring training will say it all.
• We have a kid named AJ with demons in his head. Will he bounce back? Let's pray he has a good season.
• We have the youngster Phil Hughes. I like him in the 4 or 5 slot.

Ladies and gentlemen in Yankeeland... that's it. Cliff Lee was supposed to join forces with CC Sabathia and be the 1,2 punch the Yankees needed to kick everyones ass. They were suppoed to be like Koufax and Drysdale, Schilling and Johnson. It was supposed to be CC and Lee for years to come. Now all we have is CC and "Number 2." Get it? We have shit.

I never really ever blasted Cashman for making bad player moves in the past because let's face it, a player can look good on paper, and may play much better for a certain team, but it can all change and they can totally blow it on a big stage like the New York Yankees. But I have to blast Cashman today. This strategy of putting all their eggs in one basket was a horrendous error that just exposed the New York Yankees. There are many holes to be filled, the rotation is major.

Plus, waiting cost us. All the top free agents after Lee are now signed with new teams. They're all gone. What are we going to do now? Sign Carl Pavano? No way. If that were to ever happen, there would be a "Fire Brian Cashman" fan page on Facebook, trust me. Here's the list of free agents... TAKE A LOOK. Who would you want? Make a comment, let me know.

I can pretty much predict how everything will go down from this point forward.

1. The Yankees will come out with a statement saying in some way or another that they really didn't want Lee any way. Oh Wait, it already happened: “Anybody who would leave $50M on the table obviously doesn’t want to pitch in New York. Thank God we found out in time.” - - anonymous New York Yankee official. Stupid fools.


2. The Yankees are aggravated at Brauckener, Lee's Agent and also AJ's agent by the way. Don't be surpised if an AJ trade happens between now and the trading deadline, espcieally is AJ sucks. That will be a signal to Brauckener that business with him is over. Real mob shit.


3. Then, I bet the Yanks make a knee jerk panic move and try to get Zack Greinke in pinstripes. If that means trading one of our outfielders away, Gardner, Swisher, they'll do it. They will be panicking to fill the holes and it will backfire.


4. They'll look at a pitcher like Mark Buehrle. There is a lot of talk lately about Buehrle being available by the White Sox right now, no doubt Cashman called Kenny Williams about it. Buehrle, I like more than Greinke and I know Buehrle can handle the pressure, but who would the Yankees give up?


5. Pettitte. Big question mark. The Yankees now have a lot of money that they didn't spend on Lee so they need to offer Pettitte more than they normally would to get him back. That is the biggest issue right now. I told you Pettitte would not come back if Lee didn't sign with New York. I bet I'm right, unless the Yanks throw a lot of money at him and Jeet, Mariano and Posada have a conference call with him, he won't.
   

As you can see, the Yankees did it to themselves. They can't blame anyone BUT themselves. They blew it big time and hopefully the knee jerk moves that are about to take place don't mess with the rest of the team. If that happens, you have ballplayers that are out of their comfort zone, irritation and panic. The next few weeks need to be handled brilliantly before the Yankees fans all turn against them. It's already happening. One of my friends has swore he will find something else to watch this baseball season. Yes, we will have dark days ahead, maybe even as dark as today, but they Yankees can right this ship, they just can't push the panic button or it all goes down the drain.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.