Manny to the Yankees? Another Christmas gift for Red Sox Nation

Could it be?
Seriously... could the Yankees be finally saying to the world "WE ARE RUDDERLESS!"?

The Yankees are potentially thinking about bringing in Manny Ramirez?

Why not just tell Andy Pettitte to stay home?

Why not tell Derek Jeter "We think the clubhouse has been too peaceful"?

Could the Yankees be reverting back to all of their awful late 1980s, early 1990s habits of bringing in people that are recognizable instead of addressing their needs?

How can they POSSIBLY spin their interest in Manny Ramirez as anything other than "Hey! We got a player fans have heard of! And a former Red Sox player to boot! Hey! How about that? We're the Yankees and we get stars!"

The Steinbrenner Yankees have always had a mild obsession with bringing in players who have beaten them in October. From Don Gullett to Randy Johnson, the notion has always been "If you can't beat 'em, BUY em!"

And they thought that Cliff Lee was going to be the next name on the roster.
But he's gone. And so is every other potential big impact pitcher. (Unless you consider Joe Blanton to be awesome.)

The Yankees need pitching depth. BIG TIME. Yeah they can use outfield depth, but do you know what? There are never a shortage of outfielders looking for a job. Hell, Jermaine Dye has been looking for one for over a year. He's a former World Series MVP. And unlike Manny, he hasn't left a series of teams in his wake saying "It's just not worth dealing with this crap!"

But here we are. It could just be an internet rumor... but there's something about it that doesn't seem far fetched. That the need to make an off season splash to off set the Cliff Lee humiliation is there. And a move to counter act all of the "Red Sox have passed them" talk.

Bringing in Rafael Soriano would be a good solid move to upgrade their bullpen depth. But does bullpen depth put the Yankees on the back page?

Manny does.

The symbolism of taking ANOTHER 2004 Red Sox player and putting him in Pinstripes would have some allure. Alan Embree, Mark Bellhorn, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers and Doug Mientkiewicz all played with the Yankees after winning with the '04 Red Sox. (So did Ramiro Mendoza, but who are we kidding? He was a Yankee in Red Sox clothing!)

Why not Manny?
Well, first off 2004 was six years ago.
Manny was 32 then. He'll turn 39 in 2011. And the days of guys getting BETTER in their late 30s have ended. Manny has already been caught and guess what? His bat has slowed down.

I of course LOVED Manny when he was with the Red Sox, but as I wrote in my Dodgers piece for The Hardball Times, he is like a trip to Las Vegas. It is super fun at first but by the end you find yourself thinking "Oh God, this HAS to stop or else something terrible will happen."

So the Yankees will get all the headaches of Manny without his amazing bat.

And remember, Manny is a spoiled little kid who gets what he wants because his butt has been kissed. It was kissed by the Indians who wanted to develop a big star and get their team back to respectability.

It was initially kissed by the Red Sox because his signing was a counter reaction to the Yankees brining in Mike Mussina. So they had a new superstar to coddle. And later his butt was kissed because they knew they had a potential championship combo if only he stayed happy.

And the Dodgers kissed his butt because they had the first real draw to Chavez Ravine since Mike Piazza was traded.

So plop him into Jeter's clubhouse and see what happens.

You will get the symbolism of trying to erase the past while the problems of the present are left unchecked.

It's the whole bringing in Ken Phelps to a team where there is nowhere to play him all over again.

As I said before, it probably won't happen. But the fact that we have to say "probably" shows how bad the off season has been for the Yankees.

How great is this for Red Sox fans?
The idea that the Yankees could be doing essentially what Isiah Thomas did with the Knicks! Just bringing in big names for the sake of getting a headline.

OK, the Knicks are a harsh example. But what if they are the Mets? Bringing in recognizable names only to see it blow up in their face!

They won't be able to resist making a big move before spring training. And having Andy Pettitte come back isn't a big move. That's avoiding a loss.

Carl Pavano isn't coming back.

But there are no more big names left... except Manny.
No other names that would get anyone's attention... except Manny.

They may not be able to resist it.
And what a beautiful sight that would be.

It would be worth it to see if he would take a leak in Monument Park during the game. What wonderful symbolism that would be.

Some Green from the Teal - Giving the Florida Marlins some credit

It is easy to trash the fish for their cheap ways. But right now they are looking to make the NL East very very interesting in 2012.

The Marlins are indeed the strangest franchise in all of American sports. On the surface they look like a classic Quadruple A team like the Royals and Pirates. They trade veterans for prospects, turn those prospects into big league players and when they ask for too much money, ship them off for more prospects.

Along with playing in a football stadium that isn't designed for baseball and having it be either too hot or too rainy, the inability for Marlins fans to get emotionally attached to any player is as big a reason to why they have had trouble drawing over the years.

And yet there is something so different about the Marlins as compared to Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

First of all they can have winning seasons. The Marlins played their first game in 1993. The Royals and Pirates have combined for two winning seasons in that stretch, both by Kansas City. The Marlins have had 6 winnings seasons in the same stretch.

And of course they remain the only MLB franchise to have never lost a post season series. They are 6-0 in October, winning it all in 1997 and 2003.

This little franchise that could has as many World Series titles as the Mets, the Cubs, the Indians and the Phillies. They are one World Series title behind the Orioles, who have a history of putting consistent winners on the field during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

One thing they do better than Pittsburgh and Kansas City is they actually get VALUE back when they make trades. When I wrote the Home Grown vs. Acquired post for the Marlins, their home grown talent was minimal. But the players they picked up from other clubs were the backbone for their winning teams.

And I'm not just talking about the Pudge Rodriguezes and Moises Alous and Kevin Browns of the world who came in, won a ring and split.

Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Derek Lee, Brad Penny, Anibal Sanchez, Carl Pavano, Dontrelle Willis and Ricky Nolasco were all picked up and blossomed in Miami.

But their spending habits have been laughable. In 2006 their opening day payroll was $16 million... or $4 million less than what the Yankees paid Jason Giambi. The fact that Joe Girardi almost led that team to a winning record was all he needed to win Manager of the Year that year.

In 2008 they spent $22 million on players and had a winning season.
Imagine if their payroll went from "Laughable pathetic" to merely "Small." They probably could have won the Wild Card.

With the Players Association trashing their payroll and forcing the Marlins to spend a little bit, a refreshing picture is starting to emerge in South Florida that has nothing to do with LeBron James.

The Marlins are moving into their new tax payer sinkhole in 2012. And for the first time in their history, the Marlins will have a ballpark to call their own instead of feel like they are crashing on the Dolphins couch.

Miami fans will be able to know they will have decent seats, they won't be rained on and it won't be stifling with humidity.

In other words there will be an incentive to actually GO to the game.

And unless the Marlins trade off a lot of salary between now and 2012, guess who will be under contract and wearing teal?

Hanley Ramirez.
Josh Johnson.
Ricky Nolasco.
Anibal Sanchez.
Mike Stanton.
Gaby Sanchez.
Logan Morrison.
Chris Coghlan.
Chris Volstad.

That's a decent core with an MVP candidate, a Cy Young candidate and some good young pitchers and hitters.

And with Ricky Nolasco signing an extension this year to go along with Hanley Ramirez's extension and Josh Johnson's pact, the Marlins will have three solid players entering their 7th year with the team when they go into the new ballpark.

That's enough time to attach some emotion to a player.

Add to that the new revenue and the fact that Miami, with its many transplanted Northeasterners to go along with the Latin population, should be a baseball haven. And with some money, big free agents should want to live in the low taxed, glamorous Miami lifestyle playing in a low pressure environment.

By 2012 the Phillies juggernaut may be slowing down.
Jimmy Rollins will be a free agent and the Cliff Lees and Roy Halladays and Ryan Howards would all be deeper into their 30s.

2012 could also be the time that Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are ready to shine in Washington. And the Braves are continuing to build on their strong core.

By then a young Marlins team with a burst of energy in the new ballpark and some more money to spend might just be ready to make their move.

And with their post season good fortune, they might indeed win another World Series title. (How would THAT sit with the Cubs and Indians fans of the world?)

So I give you credit, Marlins. You are operating in the Cleveland Indians mold from the mid 1990s. Put together a talented core and by the time you have a new ballpark and new fans filing in, give them a good product.

And before long, who knows? Maybe the Marlins will be one of those teams that people say "It isn't fair. They always out bid other teams on free agents!"

Brian Cashman is having a hell of an off season

On December 3rd of this year, Brian Cashman rappelled off of a 350 foot building in Stamford Connecticut. He did NOT fall to his death.

And that is probably the one positive thing that has happened to Cashman this off season.

As of this writing, Cashman's improvements to the team have been NOT losing two Yankee legends, signing a non tendered catcher from the Dodgers, an adequate lefty reliever from the Mets and a former ace in Mark Prior who, since 2006, is tied with ME for innings pitched in the major leagues.

The Yankees, the big bad Yankees who go and fill every need every off season with their deep pockets and make everyone scream how unfair it is, went into this winter with an obvious glaring need:

Pitching depth.
And the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2008 and the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2009 have both switched teams... yet neither will end up in the Bronx.

As of this writing, Andy Pettite is still unsigned, Phil Hughes is still questionable after a rotten second half, A. J. Burnett still stinks and C. C. Sabathia is still recovering from knee surgery.

Yeah yeah yeah, it is a minor surgery for Sabathia. But anytime a 300+ pound 30 year old man starts to have knee problems, it's hard to not at least be concerned.

Their bullpen depth is still questionable. And of course the stock of Joba Chamberlain has fallen to the point where he isn't considered to be a plus for the bullpen nor the rotation.

The pickings are slim in the free agent market (hey, they brought back Javy Vazquez last year. Why NOT Pavano?) And if they had the young talent to trade for a quality arm, that young talent would already be on the team.

Which brings us back to Cashman.
A few years ago, I wondered if his critics were wrong.

It turns out that picking on him that year was kind of foolish as the Yankees won it all in 2009. But some of my criticisms still seem valid.

Since taking more control of the team after the 2005 season, the Yankees have had the 2006 Division Series debacle against the Tigers where their lack of pitching depth was exposed... the 2007 Division Series midge infested ousting by the Indians where they relied on Chein Ming Wang as a #1 starter... the 2008 season where they missed the playoffs... the 2009 World Series Champs... and the 2010 ALCS where their lack of pitching depth was exposed badly.

Now for most GMs, a World Series title in a 5 year run would be enough.
But Cashman isn't in the situation that most GMs are in.
He never has to make a difficult rebuilding process decision.
He never has to consider moving a popular player because he is arbitration eligible.
He never has to ask "Which superstar can we afford to have?"

He can talk about setting a budget but then it will inevitably be blown up.
He can try to take a stance of not signing veterans to long term deals and going for youth, but then sign Derek Jeter to a 3 year deal when nobody else was offering 2.

So yeah, the standards are different.
And yes, I know that the Red Sox have a bottomless pit of money and since 2005, Theo has only bought one World Series himself.

But I don't see the Yankees having two homegrown aces like Lester and Buchholz, nor having the trade chips to pull the trigger on a deal for Adrian Gonzalez nor actually get someone to accept their money like Carl Crawford.

The Yankees are still a quality team, but it says a lot that when Cliff Lee wanted to go to the place where he is most likely to win a title, he chose Philadelphia.

There aren't any legit #1 or #2 starters left out on the market and Petitte might still decide to stay in Texas and count his millions and rings and play with his kids.

If this off season continues to go this badly for Cashman and it translates once again into a season where the lack of pitching bites the Yankees in the rear, he find himself hanging on by a much thinner rope than he was holding in Stamford.

How happy are the Twins they signed Joe Mauer when they did?

Not that Joe Mauer came cheap. He is paid like a unique superstar which he is.
But holy cow, compare Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth's contract and their worth to Mauer... an MVP batting champion home town hero catcher?

And if he was on the open market can you imagine the Yankees desperate to make a splash and with a huge hole at catcher and an inviting right field porch doing the bidding?

Can you also imagine the Angels wanting more firepower and star power on the team?

Can you also picture the Red Sox, having let Victor Martinez walk, looking to fill his shoes with the best in the game?

And how about the Cubs wanting to win some fans back? Or the Rangers looking for a long term solution behind the plate?

Could you imagine the bidding war for a player like Mauer?

The bids would START at $200 over 8 years!

Forget a hometown discount. The Twins would have to have him be the owner of the team!

Instead he is stuck with a measly $184 million.

Man, he got lowballed.

Another Cliff Lee thought

Each day Cliff Lee doesn't sign, it seems like the Rangers, the Yankees and probably some other team add more money to the offer.

Each week that goes by it seems like another year is thrown onto the contract.

What if Cliff Lee waited until just before spring training?

Get the teams all sweating.

He could have a 15 year contract for $375 million.

Hey, it's worth a shot!

Aww... Wittle Derek's Feelings Got Hurt

Now before I get bombarded with Yankee fan e mails calling me a gutless, hating Red Sox fan, let me get a few things out of the way.

1) Derek Jeter is a great Yankee.

2) Derek Jeter has been a wonderful superstar.

3) Derek Jeter belongs in the Hall of Fame.

4) I would have loved to have seen Derek Jeter in a Red Sox uniform.

5) I have praised Jeter on this blog with this post, this post and this post. And I defended Jeter FROM Yankee fans on this post. So I've been as positive and fair minded as a lifelong Red Sox fan can be about #2.

Did you catch all of that?

Good.

Now let's get to the heart of this.
He went from winner to WHINER with that press conference.

Ooooo... free agency was so tough.

Listening to him complain through that press conference was a little startling because he's always played the media game so well. But this should have been the easiest press conference in history.

"All the business stuff aside, I am proud to be a Yankee and hammer this contract out. I know they wanted me back and I wanted to come back. It took a little bit of time but we're here and let's win number 28."

Boom. Easy. Simple. Totally forgettable.

Instead we have tripe like "I was more angry at the process and how I was being portrayed."

Really?
You mean being portrayed as someone asking WAY more than the open market would ever get you?

Because that's what happened.

"I heard greed."

It's funny. So did we. We heard a guy who had already been paid incredibly well for his services and clearly well into the last half of his career essentially being asked to be paid AGAIN for what he did in the past.

But the worst thing was when he said "When the organization says, ’go shop’ when I said I wasn’t going to, yeah, I wasn’t happy about it."

Sorry, but I have to call B.S. on this.

You weren't happy about being asked to find what your actual worth on the open market was? You weren't happy being told "Hey, before we keep shoveling more money to you, how's about seeing what OTHER PEOPLE think your price tag is"?

I wrote that that was the only fair thing to do. To truly find the REAL market value of Derek Jeter and see if the Yankees would match it.

Guess what Derek? The Yankees wanted to make a decision on whether or not to keep you based on reality, not on Yankee prices.

And do you know what? When other teams do that, Derek Jeter has benefitted.

Other teams make decisions of whether or not to keep a player based on the actual open market price. And many times those decisions lead to teams saying "We're not going to match the market price."

And lookee here!
Jeter, did you like playing with John Wetteland?
Jimmy Key?
David Cone?
David Wells?
Roger Clemens?
Chuck Knoblauch?
David Justice?
Mike Mussina?
Jason Giambi?
CC Sabathia?

The Yankees got all of them either through free agency or salary dumps because their original teams didn't ante up.

So you had no problem when OTHER teams made decisions based on costs.

But not when it came to you.
You had to be paid like an elite player, even though you are not anymore, for your intangibles, for which you've been made a millionaire nearly 200 times over.

And he STILL got paid at least twice what any other team would pay him. The Yankees raised the offer even though no other team was bidding on him.

If you ask me it sounds like an awesome process.

Red Sox get Carl Crawford! Two can play this evil game!

It's starting to feel a lot like 2003, 2004 and 2005 in here. And your pal Sully couldn't be happier.

As I wrote back in 2007, the Red Sox are an evil empire as well. And MAN it is fun to root for the bad guys!

The Red Sox picked up the best two left handed bats available and didn't have to give up Jose Inglesias,, Ryan Kalish or Daniel Bard.

They've gone from having a rotation of Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava, Bill Hall and the 14th caller on WEEI in left field to one of the best in the game.

And oh yeah, removed him from a rival.

EEEEEVIL!

Right after they picked up a home town San Diego hero who almost led a band of low paid misfits to the playoffs.

EEEEVIL!

And it is awesome.

I know the Yankees made two big signings, but let's face it: Bringing back Jeter and Rivera isn't exactly addition. It's AVOIDING subtraction.

Now if Cliff Lee can sign with the Rangers, this Red Sox fan will be dancing like Papelbon circa 2007.

Get a healthy Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. Add J. D. Drew on a contract year. Mix in the new left handed bats of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. And keep in mind Big Papi will be batting 6th or 7th!

And oh yeah, have Lester and Buchholz head up the rotation and Papelbon in his walk year eyeing the big bucks.

Forgive me if I don't care if you hate the Red Sox.
I'm giddy for 2011 to start.

Cue the Darth Vader theme!

(And enjoy this odd video I shot at a John Williams concert in the Hollywood Bowl... lots of Star Wars geeks doing some conducting with light sabers.)

Come to Fenway, Carl

It's a little better than the Trop.

There is the Green Monster in left rather than those stupid rings in the Trop that you could hit with a flyball.

And oh yeah, they don't have to literally GIVE tickets away to fill up the place.
I think you'll like it.

I know trying to sign Crawford away from Tampa, which the Red Sox are evidently trying to do, makes my team as greedy and as vulture like as the Yankees.

And do you know what?
I don't care!

My team plays for fans who PAID ADMISSION.

Giants sign Pat Burrell and fill their need for a hitter who can't field and strikes out a lot

That is according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, and why would he lie to me?

But it strikes me as an odd move.
Yeah he got a bunch of big homers when he came over to the Giants after being cut by Tampa.

And sure he is a graduate of Bellarmine Prep in San Jose was a local kid who helped the Giants win their first World Series title by the Bay.

But let's face it, a lot of Pat Burrell's production was a burst of power to prove Tampa Bay wrong... then he regressed into being the hitter that the Rays saw fit to cut.

He hit a combined .142 in the post season and went hitless in the World Series.

Hey you fans of sabermetrics... do you know what his OPS was in the World Series?

.133

That's not his batting average.
That's the sum total of his slugging percentage and his on base percentage.

And oh yeah, he had to be replaced for defensive reasons.

He struck out 11 times in the 4 games he played in the World Series and frankly looked like a guy who was done.

I thought, as did no doubt everyone else in the Solar System, that the Giants were going to pat Pat the Bat on the butt and say "Thanks for your help, here's your second World Series ring in three years, good luck."

Perhaps with his up and down career and having earned nearly $70 million in his career that this could have been the best way to go out... as a champion.

But he found a better way.
Cash another $9 million in checks.

I thought an outfielder like Austin Kearns (who can actually play the field) would have been an ideal fit for the Giants. And he would have been cheaper too.

But who am I to judge?

So look forward to a whole season of Pat Burrell playing 6 innings a game and striking out.
It's good work if you can get it.

Good luck Victor Martinez

Victor Martinez has moved on from the Red Sox. There was no post season glory with him behind the plate. Heck the Sox never won a post season game in the year and a quarter he called Fenway home.

But he got a few hits for the Sox, made an All Star team and was a likable enough guy to root for.

This Red Sox fan wishes him well as he goes off to Detroit.

Meanwhile with Martinez gone and Beltre certain to go elsewhere, Theo is piling up some draft picks. He knows that the Sox will pick at least 4 times before the second round is up.

So either the Red Sox will be sniffing around for some big time free agent knowing that their draft won't be blown... or they could be ready to deal some prospects because the cupboard could be replenished next summer.

Either way, the winter is starting to get interesting in Boston.
Good luck in Detroit, Victor.
You'll look good with the Old English D.

The Red Sox need to offer Mariano Rivera a three year contract

Wait a second! The Yankees are playing hardball with Mariano Rivera?

Um… wow.
That is the most staggeringly stupid thing I have ever heard in free agent history.
YES, stupider than the Cubs offering Milton Bradley a long term deal.
YES, stupider than the Rangers making Chan Ho Park one of the top paid pitchers in baseball.

If there is ever a lynch pin to the success of the Yankees since 1996, it has been the dazzling career of Mariano Rivera.

There are some people who think Rivera is overrated and there are some people who poo poo the importance of relievers. “They throw less than 100 innings a year. How much value do they have?”

People who say that about Mariano Rivera are idiots.
That’s not my opinion. I can PROVE they are idiots in a court of law.

Yes, many relievers are overrated. I have argued that Trevor Hoffman, while a terrific pitcher who has had a nice career, is overrated. He has compiled a lot of saves but also has come up short in an alarming number of big games.

The fact that there could be a statistical system that would put Armando Benitez in any form of elite reliever category is almost as mind boggling as that piece of crap Crash winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

But Rivera is different. Year in and year out he is automatic. Year in and year out he snuffs out rallies. Year in and year out he shortens close games to 8 innings.

AND he gives the Yankee line up the confidence knowing that if they just beat up the other team’s middle relief and hand the lead to Rivera, they’ll have a win.

Plus the starting pitchers know that they don’t have to go 9, and their win loss record will look good by the end of the year.

And in the unrelenting pressure cooker that is New York, Yankee fans haven’t REALLY had to worry about the 9th inning for nearly 15 years.

Seriously, right now what reliever would you rather have as your regular closer now?
Brian Wilson? Neftali Feliz? Brad Lidge? Jonathan Papelbon?

Put the stats away for a second (even though Rivera’s 2010 numbers are, as usual, awesome.)

Who puts the opposition on their heels more?
Who makes the other team think “If we don’t at least tie the game in the 8th, we’re DEAD” more than Rivera?

And let’s get down to brass tacks here.
Which Yankee star will be the hardest to replace?

You can find another solid shortstop.
You can find another slugger… you can find another starting pitcher.

But where else is there an immovable object on the mound for the ninth?
Who is going to fill in for him?

Whoever it is, he won’t be as good as Rivera.
And when he proves he isn’t as good as Rivera, EVERYONE in New York will remind him.

Think New York doesn’t eat young players up alive? Talk to Joba Chamberlain. He was supposed to be Joba’s heir apparent in 2007. Now it is 2010 and he’s already a mess and Rivera is still at the top of his game.

And the Yankees want to play hard ball?



I say let them.
But why can’t other teams make a run at him?

Seriously, why should other teams play some B.S. honor code about not bidding on Yankee superstars? It’s not like the Yankees ever say “Hey, we can’t bid on that player! He would never be identified as a Yankee. Let’s not even call his agent.”

NO! They try to gobble up the big players… as is their right.
But guess what? OTHER teams can make a bid on Rivera.

If the Yankees are only offering him a 1 year contract, another team should offer him 2.

And I think the Red Sox should offer him 3 years.

First of all it will give the Red Sox a bullpen going into 2011 of Bard, Papelbon and Rivera.

Are you kidding me? Games would be over in the 6th!

Secondly it will give the Red Sox some flexibility when Papelbon’s free agency comes about after the 2011 season.

And yeah, I think in three years Rivera will still be an elite reliever. Has he shown ANY signs of slowing down?

But most importantly not only will it improve the Red Sox, but it will put the Yankees in unfamiliar territory.

Can you imagine the Yankees moving ahead with a shaky closer? Or even a pretty good closer?

Yankee fans haven’t experienced having a subpar closer since before the 1994 strike… you know the era when they couldn’t make the post season.

Giardi already has suspect bullpen handling skills… let’s see how he does without the no brainer in the ninth!

Decimating the Yankees bullpen while the Rays are dismantling their division winner could make the Red Sox the favorite in the A.L. East.

It’s a great chance to give the Red Sox an all time bullpen to go with a rotation headed by Lester and Buchholz and give the Yankees an gut punch?

Isn’t it worth making the call?
Make the offer.

There’s no way it will happen if they DON’T make the offer.

And maybe it will bring other teams into the bidding. Seeing Rivera on another team can only help the Red Sox win the East.

Will it happen?

Probably not… but remember, when the Yankees played hardball with Andy Pettitte after the 2003 World Series, the Red Sox actually made the highest bid before he signed with Houston.

And 2004 ended up to be a good year for the Sox.

Rivera wants to be loyal to the Yankees?
Have him prove it.

Would someone else PLEASE bid on Derek Jeter?

Derek Jeter will be a New York Yankee in 2011.
Everyone on the planet Earth knows that.

I am sure there is a bushman in the Kalahari desert bewildered by a Coke bottle who when asked about Jeter's contract status would reply "Jeter? *Click* He's not going anywhere! *Click*"

And yet both Jeter and management are playing out a bizarre charade as if he could play elsewhere.

One Yankee executive (whose name probably rhymes with "Pank Peinbrenner") asked "Where is he going to go? Cincinnati?"

As if the idea of a player ending his career in a place other than the Bronx is so insane.

And Jeter's agent is "baffled" by the fact that the Yankees are offering a shortstop closer to 40 than to 35 ONLY a three year deal that would keep paying him as one of the elite players in the game.

And all the Jeter defenders are waxing poetic about Jeter's place among legends like DiMaggio and Mantle and shouldn't the Yankees pay him for his leadership qualities and what he has done in the past for the Yankees?

As if he took less money to play for the Yankees when he signed that 10 year, $189 million contract.

As if HE went to third to make room when a superior shortstop came to town.

Wasn't he already well compensated for past services rendered?

So I have a crazy way to settle this nonsense... have Jeter go out on the open market!
See what he is worth! And then have the Yankees match the best offer.

Isn't that the fair thing?

That way we get to see how fair the Yankee offer is... and we get to see what Jeter's loyalty to the Yankees truly is.

I suggested in a tongue and cheek manner that the Pirates should make a bid for him.

But Vince Caramela at the Hardball Times broke down Jeter's possible destinations.
And Peter Abraham at the Boston Globe speculated about Jeter collecting his 3,000 hit in a Red Sox uniform.

So go out there and find a number.

And Yankees, see what he is worth and consider if you want to ante up.
Even iconic franchise players can part ways with their teams.

The 49ers parted ways with Joe Montana.
The Bruins said toodleloo to Bobby Orr.

In baseball even the likes of Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg and Christy Mathewson wrapped up their careers elsewhere.

And oh yeah, Babe Ruth finished his career as a Boston Brave.

Perhaps the Yankees might say "Do you know what? We're not going to match the Padres offer."
And in a way, can you blame them?

They signed Jorge Posada to a "let's be loyal to our boys" contract after the 2007 off season. Not one team could possibly have offered him 3 years... the Yankees gave him 4. And he was worthless after 2 seasons.

Maybe they don't want to get in the habit of over compensating for players they have already paid a fortune for.

And if Jeter signed elsewhere, I NEVER want to hear a Yankee fans complain. The Yankees and their fans treat each off season like a Brewster's Millions spending spree with the automatic assumption that each and every star will eventually wear pinstripes.

It wouldn't kill the fan base to see a Yankee legend wear someone else's uniform.

All of this insanity can be solved the good old fashioned American way.
Find out Jeter's worth and decide to pay it or not.

That way there is no question.
Is the Yankee offer an insult? If it beats the market, then obviously it isn't.
Is being a Yankee the most important thing to Jeter? If he resigns for less money, then no doubt.

Of course because I am a Red Sox fan, I will get accused of slighting Derek Jeter. I practically wrote a love letter to Jeter last year. He's obviously a Hall of Famer and a great Yankee.

He is clearly the last Yankee to ever wear #2.

But he HAS been paid for the intangibles. Now? He should play what he is WORTH.

SO come on, other teams... let's set the price and see if the Yankees will blink.