Yankees trade options, part deux

Here are some more trade options that have popped up over the last few days. The Yankees' trade landscape has, of course, been altered significantly by yesterday's injury to Andy Pettitte. Yanks GM Brian Cashman has maintained all along that his main priorities are finding bench depth (presumably in the infield, since the team has a plethora of outfield depth on the roster and in AAA) and relief pitching. You'd have to think, though, that with the stretch drive shaping up, Cashman would much prefer a proven veteran arm in the rotation while Pettitte's gone, as opposed to Sergio Mitre or a rookie such as Ivan Nova or David Phelps, as talented as two are.

1. Get Ted Lilly from the Cubs. The Cubs' season was over long before the all-star break, and they are ready to begin selling off their higher-priced, higher-valued veterans. Lilly's been a Yankee before, he's as predictably consistent as the tide, and he's left-handed. He's no Cliff Lee--or Andy Pettitte, for that matter--but he leads the second-tier pitching market.

2. Get Cody Ross and Leo Nunez from the Fish. The Marlins are about ready to sell, as I mentioned in my last post, and a Ross/Nunez package would fill both the holes that Cashman wants to fill. Ross is a righty-swinging, versatile outfielder with decent power who will hit around .280 without embarassing himself in the field. Nunez is a hard-throwing reliever who is having a career year as the Marlins' closer but would make a solid setup guy for Mariano Rivera. The Red Sox are reportedly asking Florida about these two players as well, so we may see a deal swung sooner rather than later.

3. Get Jonathan Sanchez from San Fran. I should begin by saying that the Giants are likely not very motivated to move Sanchez. He's a young, hard-throwing, left-handed strikeout machine on a team that is built around pitching but struggles to score runs. They would probably want major-league hitters or top prospects for Sanchez and the Yankees don't really match up there. Our top hitting prospects are catchers and the Giants already have their catcher of the future in Buster Posey. But Sanchez is a starter with bullpen experience and is nearly unhittable at times.

4. Get Jayson Werth from Philly. Werth is a classic late-blooming slugger who finally came into his own with the Phils during their World Series run. Top prospect Domonic Brown is waiting in the wings at AAA and is nearly ready to supplant Werth in right field, so Philly will probably be taking offers. The Yankees could work a sort of platoon with Nick Swisher where he and Werth rotate through right field and DH so that both are always in the lineup. The main problem with making this deal is that the Phillies are looking for the same thing the Yankees are: pitching and infield depth.

5. Get Jason Vargas and/or Brandon League from the M's (yeah, right...). This trade will likely never happen for the simple reason that Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik made a verbal agreement to trade Cliff Lee to the Yankees. then shopped the deal around and used it to get a better offer from Texas, which he accepted. Brian Cashman and the Yankees do not appreciate being used and they will not forget. League is a hard thrower out of the bullpen, and is accustomed to the AL East, having been with Toronto prior to this season. Vargas is a veteran lefty having a career revival with Seattle. Both could probably be acquired on the cheap for mid-level prospects.

6. Get Scott Downs from the Jays. Downs is the closest thing to a sure thing as far as left-handed relievers go. His numbers over the last couple seasons have been outstanding and the Yankees are one of three teams considered to be seriously interested, along with Boston and Philly. He would instantly and dramatically improve the Yankee bullpen, and he'd give Joe Girardi a weapon he can be confident in against top lefty sluggers in the stretch run and postseason.

7. Get Fausto Carmona from the Tribe. The Indians will be sellers at the deadline, but it will be interesting to see what they do with Carmona. His trade value should be high, as he is a young starting pitcher with very good stuff, but he is signed to a relatively team-friendly deal for the next few years. Will Cleveland try to get something for him, or will they hold onto him and decide to build around him? Stay tuned...

8. Get Ben Sheets from the A's. Sheets' ERA is higher than normal this season, but you know what you're going to get from him, and he would likely benefit from having speedy outfielders like Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson chasing down fly balls behind him. He's due a little less than $4 mil for the rest of the season and could probably be had for a reasonable price. The biggest knock on Sheets has been his injury history.

Yankees options at the trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is just two weeks away, and I'm wondering what the New York Yankees will be doing. They almost got Cliff Lee last week, but the Mariners shopped the deal around and sent him to Texas instead. The Yanks need help in the bullpen, on the bench, and at the DH spot. After some careful consideration, here are the options that I find most interesting.

1. Get Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs. He's become a headache in Chicago, but he's a former all-star and he's still in his prime years. When healthy, he has electric stuff, and the Cubs might be willing to eat salary just to get him off the roster. Before suspending him, Lou Piniella was using him out of the bullpen, which is where the Yankees could plug him in, then maybe use him as a back-of-the-rotation starter next season if Andy Pettitte retires and/or Javier Vazquez is wearing a different uniform. Oh yeah, and Zambrano is a tremendous hitter, too, which would help in the World Series.

2. Get Adam Dunn from the Nats. ESPN reported this week that Dunn is getting sick of waiting for an extension from Washington and will probably leave after the season, so they are probably more motivated to trade him than what they are letting on. But the Yanks could really use a classic power bat in the middle of that lineup, and that's exactly what Dunn is. His bat would play perfectly to Yankee Stadium's short right-field fence, and he'd DH, so he wouldn't be hurting all of our eyes with his awful defense.

3. Sign George Sherrill. The lefty reliever was just placed on outright waivers by LA, meaning he can be claimed by anyone, or signed as a free agent in a couple days. He's been terrible this season, but was an all-star as recently as '08 and is another candidate to rebound with a change of scenery. The Yankees need a lefty in the pen...actually, they need somebody, ANYBODY in the pen, and there's really nothing to lose by giving Sherrill a shot.

4. Get Dan Uggla from the Fish. Marlins owner Jeffery Loria may finally be realizing that his team is going nowhere fast this season, and it may be time to jettison some of their larger contracts. Uggla is a power bat who's a natural second baseman but has the power and body type to play third. The Yankees could rotate him between DHing and spelling A-Rod at third on his off-days.

5. Get Ty Wigginton from the O's. Wigginton can hit, shows a decent amount of power, and plays all over the infield. The Yankees' current utility infielder is Ramiro Pena, he of the sub-.200 batting average. Pena's main two skills are his glovework and looking a little bit like Ralph Macchio...Wigginton's versatility and skills with the bat would be a tremendous upgrade.

6. Get Prince Fielder from the Brewers. He'd be DHing, of course, with Mark Teixeira manning first base in the Bronx for six and a half more years, but his lefty power bat is perfect for Yankee Stadium, and the Yanks can afford him. He knows CC Sabathia from CC's half-season in Milwaukee, and who better to give Fielder the Teixeira-esque contract he desires but the team who actually signed that very deal? This deal would definitely require trading top prospect Jesus Montero, so the Yankees would likely want a negotiating window to make sure they could sign Fielder for years to come before actually pulling the trigger on a deal.

7. Get Joakim Soria from KC. Soria is the closer in KC, and the Yanks already have a pretty good one of those-- see Rivera, Mariano-- but he'd be a darn good setup guy, too, and you'd have to think he'd be willing to give up closing to be able to set up for someone like Mo and pitch for a winning team after spending his whole career in Kansas City. The Royals, however, may not be especially motivated to trade Soria unless they receive an offer they can't refuse. His contract is affordable and he's a fan favorite.

8. Call up Jonathan Albaledejo from Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Albaledejo has been mediocre in his few major-league appearances, but so far this season, he's been dominant as Scranton's closer, and you'd think the Yanks would give him a shot in the bigs before making a trade for a reliever.

9. Get Ivan Rodriguez (again) from the Nats. Pudge is enjoying something of a renaissance this season in DC, and acquiring a solid-hitting, gold-glove caliber catcher like Rodriguez would enable the Yankees to play Posada more often at DH, which is where his future probably lies anyway. Plus he would be a short-term stopgap at the position until Montero, or more likely Austin Romine, is ready to take over as the Yankees' catcher.

10. The deals I don't think they'll make. Houston's Roy Oswalt and Arizona's Dan Haren are both available, but the asking price for either will be steep. Arizona is reportedly asking for two starters and a reliever in exchange for Haren, and the Yankees will most likely be hesitant to trade that much young pitching depth. Dealing for a pitcher of Oswalt's caliber would almost certainly require dealing Jesus Montero, but at Oswalt's age, and with the fact that he's never pitched in the AL, it would be smarter to hang onto Montero and deal him for someone they will have for years to come.

Bucket List

So I was reading through old notes of mine on Facebook, and I found my bucket list. It made me laugh for probably five solid minutes, so here it is:

1. Go to a Yankees vs. Red Sox game in Boston. Sit in the Monster Seats and have beer thrown on me by an angry Red Sox fan. Beating him senseless is optional but suggested.

2. Go to baseball games at every Major League ballpark by the time I'm thirty.

3. Road trip across America and back.

4. Write a scary supernatural thriller, see it published, and mail a signed copy to each of my old teachers at PCC.

5. Play bass (and maybe even sing) for an intense rock band, maybe called Blunt Force Trauma, with my buddies Josh and Shane. Record at least one album and sell it on iTunes. Play at Water Street. Sign at least one forehead.

6. Own a brand new car at some point in my life.

7. Start a family and watch my kids succeed.

8. Teach aforementioned kids to play baseball. Coach their teams.

9. Write something that changes lives.

10. Be interviewed on the news.

11. Do at least one stand-up comedy show. Spencer will probably be in on this.

12. Own a dog and, when I have teenagers, teach him to pee on my daughters' boyfriends.

13. Interview a member of the Yankees.

14. Write a Hollywood screenplay.

15. Be able to wrestle one of the Karnes brothers and win. (These don't actually have to be physically possible, right?)

16. Prove to someone that the Bible is true.

Bills player visits

Free agents ILB Andra Davis and DE Dwan Edwards have visited the Bills, and draft prospect QB Colt McCoy is set to visit next month. All three would be good fits for the Bills. Davis is one of the best run-stuffing linebackers in the league, and was a surprise cut by the Broncos after posting a 90-tackle, 3.5-sack season. He has spent the last four seasons in 3-4 defense, so he'd bring much-needed experience as the Bills transition to their first season in the 3-4. He also has ties to new Bills Defensive Coordinator George Edwards: Edwards was his linebackers coach in Cleveland. Dwan Edwards can play several positions along the defensive line, and showed last season that he is fully recovered from spinal surgery, as he reached a career-high with 47 tackles. Edwards also has 3-4 experience. One interesting side note here is that both Davis and Edwards said that former Bills recommended Buffalo to them as a great place to play. Davis said former Denver teammate LB Mario Haggan talked to him for about thirty minutes about playing in Buffalo, and Edwards said that former Ravens teammate DE Justin Bannan gave Buffalo high marks in conversation. QB McCoy will probably be available in the second or third round and would fit into Head Coach Chan Gailey's planned quarterback competition with Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Brian Brohm. McCoy has all the tools but would need some time to adjust to running an NFL-style offense.

Albert vs. Tiger?

I'm always amazed at how much our fascination with public figures' personal lives often trumps coverage of stories that are actually important. The recent major story in the headlines has been a rumor--and a massive one, at that--which has the Phillies trying to trade Ryan Howard to the Cards for Albert Pujols. But today, that headline isn't even on ESPN's homepage major headline list; it's been replaced by the news that Tiger Woods will be returning to PGA action at The Masters. True, this is a big story. But, really, who didn't see this coming? The same day that the Woods media dam broke, spilling the story of his many misdeeds, I read multiple stories prophesying his return at The Masters. It just made too much sense. Meanwhile, today, a theoretical trade involving two former MVPs, one of whom is the hands-down greatest active player in baseball, has been bumped to the back-burner.

Speaking of that trade rumor, ESPN's Buster Olney reports that it was, at best, an internal conversation by the Phillies. According to Olney, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "denied his team had discused a trade and used 'lies' and 'ridiculous' and 'irresponsible' to describe the report." If this idea actually did come up in Phillies internal discussions, it was probably around the water cooler and went something like this:

Executive A: Dude, imagine if we had Pujols. With him and Halladay, we'd win the Cy Young and the MVP!

Executive B: That'd be sweet. We'd probably have to give up Howard though.

Mailroom Guy: Oh man! I better call ESPN!

Around the NFL Offseason

The NFL doesn't have a real offseason; right now, we're simply in a period where no games are being played on the field. The NFL is still in the daily headlines, however, as we all speculate about free agent signings and mock drafts. A quick roundup of recent news:

The Brandon Marshall-to-the-Seahawks rumors persist. Seattle writer Chris Sullivan posts this complicated plan for the 'Hawks and Broncos to effectively switch out their draft picks in a Marshall trade. I, for one, do not see Marshall being traded this offseason. Denver won't deal him unless they're blown away by an offer, but teams may be even less inclined than ever to do that, considering that the Ravens just got Anquan Boldin and a 5th-rounder for only their 3rd- and 4th-round picks.

Another Bronco receiver on the block is tight end Tony Scheffler. Nobody seems to be mentioning this, but the Buffalo Bills would be wise to at least kick the tires on a deal. The Bills have lacked a pass-catching tight end since Jay Riemersma left town, and Scheffler would prove especially useful if Trent Edwards (known to Bills fans as Captain Checkdown) returns as quarterback, and if the Bills don't bring in another wideout to complement Lee Evans and negate the loss of Josh Reed. Young Bills tight end Shawn Nelson has shown promise, but his progress last season was slowed by injury.

Speaking of the Bills, they have signed offensive tackle Cornell Green to a three-year deal. Green is expected to replace the retired Brad Butler at right tackle. Green is expected to bring "leadership by experience," which Bills fans can only hope isn't code for "an old guy collecting a paycheck on a team desperate for help on th eoffensive line." He does have a Super Bowl ring from his days with the Bucs, however.

One major topic of debate has been the quarterback situation in Philly. The Eagles have, in a sense, three starting quarterbacks: incumbent Donovan McNabb, backup Kevin Kolb, who many feel is ready to start, and Michael Vick. Word is that Vick has not generated much interest, but several teams have inquired about McNabb and Kolb. I wonder if perhaps the Eagles could follow in the footsteps of the Browns and seek a complete overhaul at quarterback. The Browns have already dumped former Pro Bowler Derek Anderson and traded for Seattle backup QB Seneca Wallace, and are rumored to be making Brady Quinn available. The Eagles would likely get the biggest package in return by trading McNabb, but he can limit their options because any team acquiring him in a deal would almost certainly want him to sign a contract extension (his deal has only one season left on it). Should McNabb refuse, any deal would probably fall through.

Fantasy owners are presumably torn over the Chiefs' signing of former Jets running back Thomas Jones. Jamaal Charles was Kansas City's primary back after they dumped Larry Johnson, and Charles rushed for seven touchdowns and over 1,000 yards. Now he will have Jones stealing carries, and possibly getting the bulk of goal-line carries.

The Bengals are taking a long, hard look at Terrell Owens as a number two receiver to pair with Chad Ochocinco. Seriously, who didn't see this coming? I'm sure Cincinatti sportswriters are droooling at the amount of front-page quotes they would have to print next year if T.O. brings his act to Ohio. This signing would make sense, as the Bengals could use another offensive weapon, and nothing T.O. could say would faze quarterback Carson Palmer. I'm just wondering if there would be a clause requiring Owens to commit a felony so he'd fit in with the rest of the guys in the locker room.

I know it's old news now, but in my opinion, the Jets' tremendous pickup of cornerback Antonio Cromartie gives them the leg up on New England for the division title in 2010. Opposing teams could pick on Lito Sheppard all season, often leaving Darrelle Revis all by himself on Revis Island. But now, if you're an opposing offense, where do you throw? Their aggressive, blitzing defense doesn't give QBs much time to make reads, and they will now have to deal with two shutdown corners instead of one.

Headlines and thoughts

So today I read here that since 1960 in America, the average waistline has increased seven inches in women and four inches in men. The article contends that airlines should make their seats bigger to accomodate fatter flyers. I'm not so sure about this... then again, haven't we all flown next to some massive slob who absorbed the armrest and dropped crumbs all over us?

The same site has an amazing story, recounted by the embedded journalist who lived through it, of a firefight in Ganjgal, Afghanistan, which wounded several US and Afghan troops. It's a great story and gives you a much greater appreciation for our soldiers and a better picture of what they go through on a daily basis to protect our freedoms.

Quote of the week: an ESPN blogger says, "Pairs figure skating is only sport in the world where participants are rewarded for dressing like Elton John." To say nothing of those colorful curling pants...

Did anyone else watch any of the Daytona 500, or were you all too engrossed in the requisite Valentine's Day chick flicks? I'm not a NASCAR guy, but I admit that the whole pothole fiasco got me curious. It's the Daytona 500...NASCAR's biggest race, on its biggest stage, with weeks to prepare, and they get a pothole so bad that the race is stopped for over an hour so it can be fixed, only to get bad again and require a second fixing. Then a bunch of the cars ended up in even worse shape. In other words... there was just enough action to keep me interested. Of course, I was my fiancee's house, and with only two laps to go, that aforementioned chick flick went in and I missed the end. Oh, well...

Right about now, the Buffalo Bills have got to be wondering what it will take to build an offensive line and actually keep it together. After suffering decimating injuries to the O-line all season, to the point where they were signing guys off the street, they figured they could draft a couple guys this offseason, sign some free agents, and let their young line from last year get healthy. But...surprise! Twenty-six-year-old starting right tackle Brad Butler has announced he's retiring from football. Says Butler: "My passion for education, country and community is something that I am ready to devote my full attention to. I believe the best way to pursue these spheres of interest is to step away from the game of football at this point in my life." I'm no Mel Kiper, but I'd guess this probably means Bills fans can kiss goodbye any chance of drafting a quarterback and start preparing ourselves for yet another first-round offensive lineman. I can't help but be a bit nervous; I still remember Mike Williams.

It has been reported that a massive criminal hacking organization called the ZeuS Compromise has been discovered. Apparently they have built a massive network which has stolen information from an estimated 74,000 computers worldwide. All this, and still nobody can find President Obama's birth certificate?