jacksonianmarch

No, I am not saying that all 4 will go down. I am saying that if you get 4 question marks, chances are, one will go down. If one goes down, the sox have no contingency plan and the pen will be put under major burden, which is something I dont think they can handle.

I agree. I figure the package can be agreed upon, but the financials will hold this thing back for 2-3 days at least as more than a mil will be changing hands and Johnson will need a contract extension.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMTMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNDkzODUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 Yankees, Unit parting ways is the title.

Nice, you're gonna be my bitch 700. All in good fun.

Handshake deal then? I think someone should be somebody's bitch in their sig line for a month if Clem chooses an AL East team. If he goes back to houston, none of us win. Deal?

You want durability out of your 4th starter. Igawa averaged 200IP for the past 6 seasons. Plus, the fact that he led the league in K's 3 times doesnt get any credit here, cmon now. If you are gonna throw your hat in the ring thinking Matsuzaka is an ace, then you gotta give us the theory that Igawa can at least be a 4.

the yankees have one glaring hole in their rotation if RJ goes. If you are gonna lock down one spot on the top with Matsuzaka, you have to give us a spot on our bottom of the rotation with Igawa. Our 5 spot is gonna be wide open. Pavano, Karstens and Rasner can fight it out until Clemens comes to claim the spot.

Dice K didnt have any other options in the majors. Big Clem is a FA. He'll be bought by NY if he opens up the bidding outside of Houston. I guarantee it!

just hold your ears, sit back and pray my friend. Face it, if old clem is truly considering leaving houston, he'll be in pinstripes. http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1460000/images/_1462930_roger300.jpg get a good look baby! LOL.

No, Foulke is taking a physical for Cleveland and then the rumors stopped. I think they found something on that physical.

If Clemens really despised RJ as much as is speculated, then I have to think the fog is lifting a bit. I dont think Houston is waiting for him this season. Williams was brought in as was Jennings to replace Pettitte and Clemens. I think he'll find Houston offering a sub 10mil offer for half season, and he wont fly with that. Consider this for a second. Boston has no opening for him in the rotation. NY now does. Boston has nobody he played with at all left on that roster. NY has Jeter, Posada, Mariano and then his "favorite manager" in Torre. Boston has none of his friends on that team aside from a kid he inspired so long ago in Schilling. NY has his best friend in Pettitte. NY right now, on paper is the better team, and going to NY tips the scales ever further. I think it would be blind fandom to think that Clemens to NY isnt a likely scenario. Who knows what he is thinking and he could all of a sudden turn around and go to Texas for all we know. But the stars are aligning for a Bronx return. Lets see if he takes it.

I dont see that happening. They have already said that it is in Papelbon's best interest, health wise to move to the rotation. You dont risk it with a 25 yr old kid.

well, a lot of the same stuff. Nothing revolutionary.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/12/31/reality_check_on_a_closer/?page=1 Cafardo is saying the sox will likely bring in one more middle reliever and have them fight it out in ST. He polled GMs around baseball and most of them think Tavares would be the best choice. As expected, the sox have gone away from the Gonzalez, Lidge, Cordero route as all three were either unavailable or the price was so high that it could be assumed that they all were unavailable.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12312006/sports/yankees/yanks_seek_an_upgrade_over_unit_yankees_andrew_marchand.htm RJ's agent is now refusing to declining comment over whether he is negotiating an extension with the DBacks. A few days ago he had said nobody has contacted him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/484517p-407919c.html As expected, the cash is being the holdup for right now. The NYDaily is taking it a bit too far. We all knew that once it got down to the money, it would take awhile, and RJ is vacationing in Hawaii so nothing can really be finished right now anyway. Rumor has it, they had agreed to a deal, but RJ will need to agree to an extension, and while he has 40mil already owed in deferred payments, the DBacks were hoping they would include that into his 2008 salary. This will take awhile to conclude, but the whole money issue may play wonders for NY. The Yankees apparently have settled for a package of Vizcaino/Medder, Owings, and Nippert/Ohlendorf. If the DBacks want more $$$, then the yankees will ask for Enrique Gonzalez and other pitchers who may be in the DBack rotation for 07. We have them over a barrel. They need him to generate some revenue. They are willing to throw top talent at us without us eating his whole salary. We can really rape that farm if they want more cash. Kudos Cashman.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/12/31/yankees.johnson/ The Clemens to NY rumors are starting to heat up. Obviously, it is media speculation at this point, but from the sounds of it, Roger hates RJ. moving RJ makes things a world better for him to potentially return to NY. And while most people have him pencilled into Houston, sources close to him say he misses the drama of NY and would like a return trip. The attempt by the yankees is to try and lure Roger to the Bronx for an earlier start than June 22nd, even if they need to offer a contract in excess of 20 million. There are TONS of Clemens articles today, will post them all (and some are from the boston papers and all signs point to NY).

Man, I will sleep well tonight. I find it interesting that people on this site are saying that dealing RJ is sacrificing the now. RJ is coming off back surgery as a 43 yr old 6'11" pitcher. He isnt expected to pick up a baseball again until mid spring training at least and may not take a mound in a game until May (possibly at the earliest). He wont be pitching without pain for a long time. Also, consider that he was pushed down to the #4 position and all we got out of him was 205IP and a 5ERA and he was far from irreplaceable. Igawa is 27, a lefty, and has the durability track record to make it a much easier transition. As a 4, Igawa should easily replace 200IP and a 5ERA at the very least. This then opens up the 5 hole to be Pavano's if he stays healthy, then an audition for the last spot if he is not. On another note, this gives the yankees 5 top 10 pitching prospects in AAA. Rasner and Karstens, who pitched better than RJ (much better btw) down the stretch will be in the mix as well. Then consider the leaps and bounds Chamberlain made down the stretch (in hawaii, 46K 3BB in 40IP) and the fact that the yankees 2nd best pitching prospect is gonna be in single A next yr in Betances and you have grounds to make a deal. Now, one thing I saw today was the twins realization that resigning Santana is out of the question. With Liriano on the shelf for all of 07 and Radke in the rocking chair, the twins may fall out of the race fast, and if they do, look for them to take offers on Johan. This may be a pre-eptive move to pull him out of Minnesota. Or at the very least, to pull Zambrano out of that Chicago cesspool. Arms is where it is at these days. Restock your rotation with them or package them for some pitching now. I like our direction. Then consider what we gave away. Wright was griping in 05 about not having a spot when he tore his vag against the rangers. Then he comes out and never makes it past the 6th last season, throwing 137IP in 30 starts. Sheffield was a constant headache and was injured for almost all of last yr. RJ was a bust in NY, is injured, and wants to go home. SHAZAM!! Cashman turns those 3 into 30 mil of cap space and 4 top 10 prospects, one long range pitcher, and 2 power armed relievers. Cashman is showing his mettle. Imagine what he could bilk out of another team if he dangled A-Choke.

http://nyynews.com/ This site is reporting the deal has been agreed to. Take it for what it is worth, but other yankee sites say it is an okay site, not always right but not full of BS. To the DBacks Randy Johnson $2-4 million To the Yankees Dustin Nippert Micah Owings Luis Vizcaino STEAL. Overall Randy Johnson Gary Sheffield Jaret Wright 6-8 mil for Humberto Sanchez Anthony Claggett Kevin Whelan Chris Britton Dustin Nippert Micah Owings Luis Vizcaino (in bold are top 10 prosptect, in italics are MLB players). Steals, all of them, and they clear 30 mil off the books too. WOWZAH.