Complete top 50 prospects list released

Minor League Baseball has released its complete top 50 prospects list.

Three Yankees are on the list.

Joba Chamberlain was ranked fifth, Ian Kennedy 26th and Austin Jackson 49th.

Yankees make offer for Santana

From Jack Curry:

The Yankees have offered pitcher Ian Kennedy, center fielder Melky Cabrera and at least one minor league prospect, perhaps outfielder José Tabata. In the trade discussions, the Yankees have told the Twins that pitcher Joba Chamberlain is untouchable and that they do not want to deal pitcher Phil Hughes.

Because the Twins are insisting that Hughes must be a part of the package, the Yankees are mulling whether to make that concession. If the Yankees insert Hughes for Kennedy in their offer, they think it could be enough to obtain Santana. Of course, the Yankees, or any team that reached an agreement with the Twins, would then have the challenging task of signing Santana to a huge six- or seven-year contract in a 72-hour window. (The New York Times)

I like this offer in terms of a starting point. I'm happy with the decision to make Chamberlain untouchable and I believe that Hughes will have to come into play eventually.

I am not opposed to trading Hughes but I'd prefer keeping him.

The article later mentions that the Red Sox offered Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and two minor leaguers.

This ride could get bumpy.

Posada: Pettitte leaning towards retirement

Jorge Posada had a conference call this afternoon following the signing of his contract.

He had a few things to say:

Where it got interesting was when he said the Yankees should trade for Johan Santana because they need a No. 1. Posada also said he has been calling Andy Pettitte once a week.

He said Pettitte is leaning to retirement but he hopes that will change given the direction of the team. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Things have certainly improved this off-season. Hopefully Pettitte can be swayed into returning for one more season. His one-year, $16 million offer is still on the table.

Posada officially re-signs

The Yankees officially announced the re-signing of catcher Jorge Posada this afternoon.

The contract is four years long and is worth $52.4 million.

Mariano Rivera's contract hasn't been made official yet, and Alex Rodriguez is still working on his new deal.

The Yankees continue to wait on Andy Pettitte's decision. He declined his $16 million player option early this off-season and has not decided whether or not he wants to retire.

Some Santana red flags

There are two sides to every story. Peter Abraham delves into some troubling Johan Santana stats from last season.

This pitcher was 3-2 with a 5.70 ERA against teams from the AL East last season (not counting the Yankees).

He was 5-7, 4.04 in the second half of the season, allowing 88 hits (16 of them home runs) over 98 innings. The 33 home runs he allowed for the season were nine more than in any other previous season. Scouts have noticed he appears hesitant to throw his slider. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

That is somewhat of a cause for concern for me. He was 15-13 last season. However, if he was on the Yankees, the win total most likely would have been higher.

That said, if the right package is offered, I wouldn't be opposed to a Santana trade.

River Ave. Blues wants to save the Big Three

River Ave. Blues is starting a campaign to hold onto Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

All three have been mentioned in the persistent Johan Santana trade rumors. I am against trading Chamberlain, as I feel he can be valuable either out of the bullpen or as a starter. He is an excitable character, and the team can feed off of his emotion.

I have seen enough of Hughes to like his stuff, but I would certainly trade him for Santana, and only Santana. However, if the demands are too great, I would hold on to everyone and not make the trade.

Kennedy is probably the most expendable of the three, but I don't know how much the Twins like him. A trade of Melky Cabrera and Kennedy won't get it done alone.

Whatever the case, we're in for a long ride and it will be very interesting.

Yankees, Twins discussing Santana trade

From the Associated Press:

Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Monday that discussions are ongoing but it was too early to tell whether they would lead to a deal. He did not detail how far talks had progressed.

"I don't want to get into that at this point, as far as what they want, what we're willing to give and all that," he said. "It's preliminary right now." (ESPN.com)

As I mentioned on Saturday, I'd be willing to part with Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera. I saw reports today that the Twins are interested in prospect Austin Jackson as well. That is a little steep if you ask me, but Johan Santana is the best pitcher in baseball.

Is it really worth it? Only time will tell.

A-Rod's marketing package

From Ronald Blum:

Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have agreed on a $30 million marketing package based on home-run achievements that could raise the total value of his new contract to $305 million over 10 years.

Under the agreement, which remains to be finalized, Rodriguez could receive $6 million each for tying the home-run levels of Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762), and an additional $6 million for breaking Bonds' major league record.

The Yankees could designate each level as a historic event, enabling Rodriguez to receive the added money in exchange for additional personal appearances and signed memorabilia for the club. That enabled the agreement to be allowed by the players' association and the commissioner's office. Baseball generally prohibits bonuses based on statistics such as home runs. (Yahoo!)

This type of agreement wasn't unexpected. However, all of this money is relative when you're making as much as Rodriguez will be in this yet-to-be-signed contract.

Yankees expected to make a "good, strong offer" for Santana

Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana recently declined a four-year, $80 million offer to stay with the team. He will be a free agent after the 2008 season, so he will most likely get traded.

The price, in terms of players, is somewhat coming into play.

From Kat O'Brien:

The Twins are believed to have more interest in Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes than Kennedy, but they also like second baseman Robinson Cano and centerfielder Melky Cabrera. The Yankees have other well-thought-of prospects such as pitcher Alan Horne and outfielder Jose Tabata. Longtime Twins centerfielder Torii Hunter signed with the Angels this week, so the Twins are in need of a centerfielder. (Newsday)

I would give up Hughes and Cabrera before I give up Chamberlain and Cano, even though it is Santana who we are talking about.

The Yankees have young, Major League-ready pitchers aside from Hughes, so I'd be more willing to trade Hughes. I also feel that Cano is too valuable to this Yankee team to be traded. He is part of a solid infield that includes Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Melky Cabrera can be replaced, either with Johnny Damon or acquiring Aaron Rowand.

If I was Brian Cashman, I'd start with a package of Cabrera and Hughes to gauge the Twins' interests.

Hunter signs with Angels; White Sox sign Linebrink

Late last night, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim surprisingly signed Torii Hunter to a five-year, $90 million deal. Gary Matthews Jr. will be in the second year of his five-year, $50 million contract, so this move is rather strange.

There are reports out there that reliever Scott Linebrink has agreed to a four-year, $19 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees were rumored to be interested in Linebrink's services. I'm rather happy the Yankees didn't sign him, especially for that contract. He has never pitched in the American League and has been on the decline the last couple of years.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'd like to take this time to wish everyone out there a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

If you're traveling anywhere tomorrow, have a safe trip.

Enjoy!

Girardi feels it's important for Pettitte to come back

Newsday reported that manager Joe Girardi spoke to Andy Pettitte last week and hopes to speak with him again after Thanksgiving. Girardi feels that it's too early to tell where Pettitte's mind is.

From Kat O'Brien:

"I think it's very important that he comes back," Girardi said. "I think that he knows the Yankee way, and he was a big plus in the clubhouse, as well as on the field. I know what Andy Pettitte's all about, and I would love to have him back." (Newsday)

It is indeed important that he comes back. The rotation next year, as it stands now, will be very young. It is hard to trust Mike Mussina and Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are all rookies. The only "sure thing" is Chien-Ming Wang, and he was awful in the playoffs last year. Pettitte has shown no signs of injury and he can stabilize the rotation.

That said, I love Girardi's hands-on approach. He has already traveled to the Dominican Republic to view the young talent and has spoken with Mariano Rivera, which aided in his return to pinstripes. The decision to hire Girardi is looking better and better each day.

Meanwhile, Steve over at Was Watching has introduced Project P46. The idea is to get a mass number of Yankee fans to contact Pettitte and tell him how much he is needed in 2008. It's not a bad idea and it can't hurt, either.

Shelley Duncan's Arm

See what I did there?

Anyway, the Daily News is reporting that Shelley Duncan was hospitalized with an unknown arm ailment last week.

Apparently, it's nothing serious and he should be fine.

Duncan should have a big role with the team this year. He could get a decent amount of time at first base if he hits well and can be a backup outfielder. Hopefully this injury doesn't linger.

Coaching staff made official

This was reported a few weeks ago, but the coaching staff has finally been made official.

For those that need a reminder, here's Bryan Hoch:

Hitting coach Kevin Long and first-base coach Tony Pena will return, while Dave Eiland has been promoted to pitching coach. Rob Thomson becomes the new bench coach, and both third-base coach Bobby Meacham and bullpen coach Mike Harkey -- both members of Girardi's 2006 Marlins' coaching staff -- have joined New York. (MLB.com)

iPod question

Frequent readers of the blog will know that my hard drive crashed on Friday.

The replacement came today and everything is working fine so far.

Anyway, I have a quick question regarding iPods. Does anyone out there know how to get music off of the iPod and onto the computer? I have tried some programs and I have tried searching through the hidden folders inside the iPod folder. However, these haven't worked and I'm getting errors saying that the source files cannot be found.

Rodriguez wins MVP, but not unamimously

It wasn't shocking that Alex Rodriguez won his third MVP this afternoon. What is shocking, however, is that he didn't get all 28 first-place votes.

From Bryan Hoch:

A-Rod, who became the fifth AL player to win the award three times, did not win the coveted honor unanimously. Rodriguez picked up 26 out of the 28 first-place votes, with Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, who came in second place, earning the other two first-place votes. (MLB.com)

My reaction to this story is a lot different than it would have been a week ago. With Rodriguez on his way to returning to the Yankees, Yankee fans can celebrate Rodriguez winning his second MVP as a Yankee.

But we all know that personal accolades haven't brought championship No. 27. Hopefully 2008 will be different.

Caldera: Rivera coming back

From Pete Caldera:

Mariano Rivera has agreed to accept the Yankees' three-year, $45 million offer, according to a friend who spoke with Mo today.

Last night, Rivera returned from giving baseball clinics in the Dominican Republic. He told the friend that he intended to sign when he returned, but that Hank Steinbrenner's comments about his age might have caused some hard feelings that led to a week of speculation about Rivera's pinstriped future.

Either way, Rivera would have returned to the Yankees. "He would have taken two years and an option,'' the firend said, adding that Rivera did not really want a fourth year. Perhaps that was meant to make the Yankees uncomfortable for Steinbrenner's remarks about his age. (Pinstripe Posts)

That whole bit about the two years and an option is interesting. That was my ideal contract for Rivera.

If the Yankees negotiated with Jorge Posada and Rivera during Spring Training, maybe they could have gotten cheaper and shorter deals for both players.

Whatever the case, the Yankees retained both of their major free agents and Alex Rodriguez. Things are really looking up all of a sudden.

Post: Rivera expected to take three-year offer

After returning from the Dominican Republic tonight, Mariano Rivera is going to huddle with his representatives tomorrow and according to several sources is expected to accept the Yankees' three-year, $45 million offer early next week.

The future Hall of Fame closer isn't happy about Hank Steinbrenner talking as much as he has about the contract offer that will make Rivera the highest paid closer by $4 million, but that doesn't appear to be a deal killer. (New York Post)

There isn't much more to say about this issue. The $45 million offer is the best he'll get anywhere.

Girardi visits with Rivera

New manager Joe Girardi met with Mariano Rivera earlier this week.

According to Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron, there are signs that Rivera will accept the previous offer of $45 million over three years as a result of this meeting. Girardi thinks that "there is a good chance that he will return to the team."

This is very good news. A few days ago, I wrote that Rivera wanted four guaranteed years. I think the $45 million offer is the best he'll get by anyone and he is foolish to request anything more.

The sooner they get this done, the sooner they can bring back Alex Rodriguez and figure out the bullpen situation.

That's not going to be good for business

Headquarters for Scott Proctor's Arm (AKA my laptop) is down. My hard drive crashed overnight and the new one will arrive on Monday.

I don't know how much I'll be able to post over the weekend, but I'll try to best to post some news.

Please bear with my this weekend.

Thanks.