Alex: I'm with you on all points. What about A-rod stays at 3rd and we sign Furcal? Oh boy this is Fantasy baseball.

Lets face it guys its over. The Mets got Delgado, and Wagner. Mariano is now yesterdays news. We need to hide in a cave for a while and lick our wounds. Jeter to center, we cant be that desperate could we. Furcal is all but a Cub already, so he wont be playing short.

Rockbox: Would this cave have a ball field in it?

I like Rodriguez at short better than Furcal, and I don't see moving Jeter to center as a desperate move at all. Maybe it is too late for it to be really effective, but Rodriguez is a better defensive short stop than Jeter has ever been--in spite of Jeter's two recent Gold Gloves. Again, I don't think the Yanks would actually do something so radical, but I'm intrigued that they are even considering it.

Also, I don't see why the Yanks have to lick any wounds simply because the Mets have improved their team. What were the Yanks going to do with Delgado? Plus, Wagner wasn't going to be a set-up guy--just like Ryan wasn't, and just like Hoffman won't. Hey, the Mets deserve to be pumped about something--they haven't exactly had the same kind of success that the Yanks have had since both teams met in the Subway Serious.

Alex: I'm just wondering if A-rod isn't getting a little heavy in the legs for short. Plus he's been doing a great job at third and I can't see that we have many good alternatives there. A-rod and Furcal at third and short sounds pretty good. Although Nomar at third wouldn't be hard to take either.

wsporter: That's a valid point about Rodriguez. The trouble with this experiment is that it should have happened the moment Rodriguez came to New York for it to be really effective.

Wow, I didn't even think a possible move to OF for Jeter was on the Yankees' radar. It does allow Cashman and Co. to look for a CF or a SS or a 3B and get the one with the most value. I figured since Jeter won another GG, it wouldn't be a possibility.

The Yankees had a CF when ARod came on board. They needed a 3B. Jeter is not a good choice for 3B, IMHO.

How is Alex getting heavy on the leg? The ball gets to 3rd much quicker, you can't offer concrete proof that his legs are getting heavier.

I like the Furcal move to SS and Jeter to CF. That would be insane I think. Also, if ARod moves to SS then you can probably sign a one year 3rd baseman and make the team younger....with....drum roll please....Eric Duncan in 2007. I'm starting to like this move.

Amen to that Alex. This is a day late and a dollar short, no pun ..., well you know.

while they are experimenting with him at new positions, keeping Eric Duncan at 3B suddenly seems like a better idea. he may not be ready this year, but he tore up the AFL. we all talk about whether or not we should be willing to include him in part of a deal for someone else, but if Jeter moves to CF and Arod back to SS, Duncan suddenly seems much for valuable to us right here at home.

has our trying him out at new positions been because he's defensively weak or because we assumed he was blocked at 3B by Arod?

moreover: with the recent success of the Cano "experiment" and Duncan's excellent AFL #'s, is Cashman already thinking what i am thinking?

that would rule. (and we could still sign Giles as our RF and DH Sheff)

oh, dimelo, my brother. i knew i loved you for a reason. :)

Dimelo:

Its not a knock on A-rod, the guy is an all time great player. He's not 24 any longer and he's a huge man. Its going to happen if it hasn't already. There's a difference between third base quick and short stop range. No I can't offer concrete proof that it has or will happen. I can't offer concrete proof that the sun will come up tomorrow either but I'm fairly confident it will.

Murph, good thing we are thinking along the same lines.

My brother is in reactionary mode right now, 'the Yankees need to do something quick'. I keep telling him to calm down, I actually like the approach the Yankees are taking. They are addressing their problems as opposed to doing what they did last year -- getting players for the sake of getting players. Seeing David Wright do as well as he's doing in Queens, keeps me hopeful that Duncan will be the same for the Yanks. I don't know why I'm so excited about the Jeter/ARod at CF news, but this opens up a slew of possibilities for the Yanks.

Did someone put acid in the NY Metro water supply? I think I'll need to act as a spiritquest guide to all you very confused day trippers. The hallucinations are causing delusions of grandeur.

Torre answered honestly one question - nothing is going to happen. 1) Jeter won't move or else he would have when A-Rod came over. Now Jetes got 2 GG. Why would he think it's a good idea, and again for his good "buddy" A-Rod to take his position? 2) A-Rod to CF is stupid on multiple levels mostly b/c he's finally settled in at 3B and his offensive numbers are almost back to where they should be. A-Rod in CF is not A-Rod. 3) You still need a good 3B and if we were serious about any of this, why not be in on the Beckett deal? Duncan can't play defense - he's not the the option there.

And, while we're all lost - please help me! In all the articles of the CF options, Crazy Uncle Milton keeps coming up but is readily dismissed. Is the organization that scared of MIL-ton BRAD-ley? Throwing aside all the other malcontents we've had through the years, is that clubhouse so fragile that it can't handle one cheap, young, and talented CF because of his character flaws? Worst case scenario: If you trade for him you get him on a 1 year contract @ ~3mil, so release him if he's too much to handle.

The best thing right now about Eric Duncan's glovework (at any position)is that he's a slugger in the making. He was moved to 1st base because of his scores of errors at third not only because ARod blocks him. There was talk until this season's breakout seasons by guys like Tabata and de la Rossa of moving Duncan to RF. While he remains a high ceiling offensive prospect, Duncan's got a whole lot of work to be even a replacement level defensive player...at any position.

So I just got a call from my on-the-spot crack reporting girlfriend who says she just caught Torre on the Tony Danza show. And Torre characterized the center field story as a writer taking what he wanted and running with it. He also said that Mariano Rivera could play center field. Anyhow, Emily said that Torre bascially said the story was B.S.

Ah, at least it gave us something to get excited about this morning.

Alex: You guys were out in front of this a while back with a Joel Sherman interview. It wasn't a bad idea then and it isn't now. I wish they'd at least consider it. Maybe they will. Looks like they may be rediscovering the glories that are Juan Pierre. Oh boy.

I like that Torre is thinking of putting Mariano at CF. I can see him throwing that mean cutter to Posada from death valley. Man, the Yankees are really thinking outside the box. This is going to be great year. Have we thought about using Kevin Brown as our permanent DH?

Hate to kill the Jeter to CF story, but Dave has a good idea here too - as one year stop-gap at 3rd.

http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/012411.php

Hard not to like Bill Mueller, isn't it?

BTW Alex, Tony Danza??? Man...I need to start working from home. I didn't know he had a show or that Torre is in dire need of publicity that he wouldn't at least go on Regis and Kelly. At least Kelly Ripa can get you wondering about….well…Kelly Ripa. Maybe Tony should at least get Alyssa Milano, it could be the Alyssa and Tony show. Alyssa can wear those nice outfits she wears on Maxim or FHM. Shit…I might become a telecommuter just for that.

With all this IF to CF talk, why has nobody mentioned Cano? He's young and has a little speed. They talked about it with Soriano.
I pretty much figured that this was a pseudo-story. Can you imagine Jete and A-Rod seeing this in the paper? I see them laughing their butts off and it being an ongoing inside joke in Spring Training. It is nice to see some ink on the Bombers with all the Met propoganda.

Actually, moving Cano to CF makes tremendous sense. That would open up 2b for Mark Bellhorn.

Didn't Bellhorn refuse a minor league assignment and opt for free agency back in October? Dude has some hard hands.

I thought debris was joking. I hope debris was joking.

Debris: I hope you were joking about Bellhorn. There were good reasons why the Cubs and Red Sox let him walk.

What do you all think of Joey Gathright in CF? He's no gold glover, but he could be another Juan Pierre waiting to happen.

I think Gaithright is another Bubba Crosby waiting to happen. Why buy an imitation when you can have the original?

Sorry to go off topic for a second. Goose Gossage is on the Hall of Fame ballot. I usually don't give a rats ass about this stuff but it would be nice to see that guy make it. He was as lights out as it got for about 10 years and man was he fun to watch. He and Bruce Sutter should have been in a while ago. This HOF anti reliever bias is getting stupid. Anybody care?

Until Gathright figures out how to steal first, his value will be limited. Yes, he's only 25 in 2006 and he only has 255 ML at bats, but his .638 ops is might scary.

debris, did you forget to insert a "smiley" or did you mean "furcal" when you wrote " bellhorn"?

Does anyone think that Bill Mueller can hit a lick outside of Fenway?

Alex Belth - As for Rivera throwing cutters to Posada from the warning track I'm wouldn't be suprised if he made Vlad Guerrero look like Johnny Damon in a throwing contest. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the RF bleachers at the Stadium and watch Rivera long toss on the field before the game. The ball zips right in front of your eyes and makes a sound like a quiet room fan. It's both fluid and violent at the same time. I wonder if Rivera is fast on his feet? How about Rivera in CF and then Torre pulls the double switch in the 9th and he trots in to pitch! Now THAT would be cool.

The Red Sox have Gammons. We have Danza. Advantage, Yankees.

Take a look at Gathright's minor league stats and you'll see he can show some patience and draw a walk. The guy rocketed through the minors and it's amazing that the Devil Rays didn't bring him up sooner with Baldelli on the shelf most of the year. If Gathright can't take away playing time from Bubba, who can?

Rob Gee, I totally agree about Bradley. All the comments in media about Cashman and Torre being against Bradley are ridiculous. I don't get why the Yankees just don't pick him up for 1 year and see how it goes. He is young, cheap and talented. Instead they are considered the more controversial move re: Jeter to center.

Steve Phillips doesn't often make sense, but he rightly pointed out on ESPN this morning: What happens if this experiment fails? A whole ton of people are convinced that Jeter would be a great centerfielder, but what if at the age of 32, his body cannot adjust to the outfield? What if he is unable to play a solid center? What then? Have him adjust to yet another position or trade him with the huge contract? BTW, I actually think this applies to Giles as well.

The Yankees need to find a real center fielder, preferably someone young and solid, healthy. If they are so dead set against Bradley then Cashman has to go find someone else as a stop gap until the next off season.

Netshrine,

If you look at Mueller's numbers before coming to Boston and his numbers there, the only conclusion one can draw is that Fenway was very kind to him. Fenway has always been kind to lefthanded hitters, turning pop flies to left into doubles off the wall.

All,

Bradley's act will have him dashed out of the Bronx inside of 60 days.

Illini: One man's junk is another man's treasure and the grass is always greener. I wonder how many bloggers from other teams are concocting schemes to get their hands on Bubba thinking he "might be available". If its down to a conversation about Gaithright I say play Bubba.

I seem to remember Gaithright being kept in the minors for his poor defense. The Lawton Experiment in RF was always an adventure and I prefer to not try something along those lines again.

You can have Embree and Bellhorn, but I would hate to see two of my favorite "underdog" Sox players -- Buel Mueller and Mike Myers -- in pinstripes!

I don't get all the anti-Milton talk. What do people honestly think he's gonna do- roll into town, punch out Torre, and grab Mrs. Posada's ass? Pull a glock out of his belt and shoot a heckler from CF? Demand to play SS and bat cleanup? The dude's 27 years old and talented, and unless he's completely devoid of brain cells, he's got it figured that if he behaves and plays well for the next 2 years, he's got a good shot at a nice payday. Look at how Jose Guillen straightened up when he went to a organization with a strong set of standards and a no BS manager. All this talk of Bradley being "run out of town" is knee-jerk wishful thinking from Sox fans who've been reading way too many columns about TO.

MIL-ton BRAD-ley:

If he produces, the Yankees have a high tolerance for shenanigans. Instead of stating the obvious (he's a trouble maker, got a bad attitude, etc., etc., etc.)

Can anyone make an argument against that he:

a) Will not produce, offensively or defensively, or would do significantly worse than other available options?

b) Would ruin the clubhouse chemistry? Can you really see Torre, Jeter, Sheffield, A-Rod, Giambi, letting Crazy Uncle Milton get to them?

Anyone at all?

It's the writers that will make a story of every little indiscretion. But then we wouldn't have to read all season about how A-Rod isn't clutch and blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I'd trade a week MIL-ton of "spitting on Lupica" for a season of other trivial newscycle chatter.

Rob: If the Greeks were right and character is fate, and I believe they were, Mr. Bradley has given us ample displays of his bad character. We know what the guy is. If he comes here he will implode, it is fate. He's tabloid road kill waiting to happen. He will be a disaster. He has talent and he will go nuts. But he won't do it here cause he ain't commin. He needs a nice quiet place where no one will notice him, like Fairbanks or Nome. Seems to me we've been down this road before.

If Milton spits on Lupica (aka gnome), then the Yankees should seriously consider signing him to 10 year 100 million dollar deal.

The Milton deal would scream of desperation. Given the intensity of Red Sox - Yankee games, do we really want that little twitch Milton has to get activated at Fenway? Do we really want Milton getting pissed and running into the Fenway stands and beating up some poor kid because his father told him to scream "Milton swallows Jeter's load"?

Wait a second...what am I talking about? Of course we want him to do all those things. Sign him now!!!! Imagine having this crazy nut and Farnsworth together ready to smack the shit out of Trawt and Curt. I don't know, this could definitely make the rivalry more interesting. The hell with it...sign his ass. It's not like he won't fit in with the other nuts you can find on the Grand Concourse, Fordham and Bellevue. Farnsworth and Milton could be our hired assassins. They'll be our own personal McMurphy (Milton) and Chief (Farnsworth) from "one flew over the cuckoo's nest".

I don't know, I see tremendous upside in Milton coming to the Bronx. What makes this even more attractive, I hear he can play some baseball too.

As far as I am concerned Bradley can't be any more difficult than Sheffield and even if he is so what? The Yankees aren't tied to him for life. If Milton did spit on Gollum (Lupica), well ... I can only hope that I will be able to feign outrage.

"If Milton spits on Lupica (aka gnome), then the Yankees should seriously consider signing him to 10 year 100 million dollar deal."

LOL, Dimelo, you must have read my mind!

In Milton Bradley's injury-plagued career, he has managed to go 5 for 28 at The Stadium for a whopping .178

Although this is a small sample, the much larger fact is: HE CHOKED HIS PREGNANT WIFE!

We're not talking about some 16 year old kid. We're talking about a grown-ass man.

He is undeserving to wear the Yankee Pinstrips and I think that's all there is to it.

So what if the Yankees are desperate? Maybe desperation drives them to a make a deal that turns out to be good. Frankly, I would mind if Bradley accidentally on purpose wails away on some Red Sox fans. At least, they would get a real beat down before being a Boston judge claims they did nothing wrong.

Well, we need something to take the back pages away from the Mets (champions-in-waiting for 2006). Maybe Farnsworth buzzing Delgado or Bradley taking Reyes out into leftfield on a DP attempt would revive the hatred. Or maybe we should sign Piazza as our DH/back-up catcher. Just kidding.

Grown-ass man? Wasn't that a sitcom on UPN?

If spousal abuse, rape, drunk driving, and every crime in the book was a deterrent for signing or trading for good players, MLB, NFL, and NBA would be out of business in a year. It doesn't mean that a team should stock on an assortment of criminals, but it does mean that if they have enough talent, these players should be fair game.

The Yankees need Bradley for his defense primarily, I don't see how his offense can be judged on a small sample in the Stadium anyway.

Shawn, Didn't Robert Parrish kick his pregnant wife down the stairs when he played in Boston? They still loved him in Boston. I remember after they found him with a few blunts in his car, Boston fans were putting up signs: "Inhale to the Chief". Anyhow, kicking your wife or any woman should not be tolerated by a civilized society. It's hard to make any defense for Milton other than saying, if he helps us and behaves then let's go for it.

Look at Kevin Mitchell with the Mets in 86, Gooden said he ripped the head off his girlfriends cat and had his girlfriend and Gooden tied up ready to stab'em to death. That still didn't stop the San Francisco Giants from trading for him and seeing him win the MVP.

I guess I'm like Jimmy Johnson when he said he'd sign Charles Manson if he can run 4.3 40 yard dash. I understand that you want a player to represent the pinstripes with same class and dignity as Jeter, Williams, Mo, etc, etc. But to act as if the Yankees haven't had a slew of suspect cats that were worse or at the same level of Milton is crazy. I know Torre would never tolerate a player beating up anyone, let alone their wife but if anyone understands giving someone another chance is Torre. Christ....he dissed Sierra then took him back into his arms. If Phil Jackson can work it out with Kobe, why can't Milton work it out? Give Milton a chance. What's there to lose if he comes to the Bronx for one year?