If he's close to 700+ homers, he'll play on. It makes no difference one way or the other to the Yankees. If he's not the same player at 35 as he is today, it will be time to think about replacing him anyway. The team as a whole will be very different after the 2010 season. There will be no:

Mike Mussina
Andy Pettitte
Randy Johnson
Carl Pavano
Mariano Rivera
Johnny Damon
Derek Jeter (?)
Bobby Abreu
Alex Rodriguez (?)
Jason Giambi
Jorge Posada
Hideki Matsui

It's possible that both Jeter and A-Rod will be on the 2011 Yankees, but they will be past their primes and basically filling their positions with above average, but no longer MVP caliber, performance. The pitching staff will be almost unrecognizable from the 2007 team. You may see Wang and Igawa, if they play well. You'll certainly see Hughes, and maybe Cox. The lineup will be drastically different with only Cano as a certain holdover. You'll probably have Tabata there, if all goes well.

The fact is, the A-Rod talk is a non-story. The Sox and Yankees will be 95% different in 2011, so it doesn't merit much comment.

Melky is a chip worth $10M/yr on the open market (Gary Matthews Jr.). I can't figure the Mike Gonzalez deal unless Cashman knows something about Rivera retiring in '08. These setup guys are too inconsistent to be using your top value chips to acquire.

Everyone keeps saying that Tabata will be ready in '09. He's not even 18 and a half yet, a lot can go wrong (though you have to love his potential).

I'm already on the record in favor of trading Melky for pitching. I think the proposed trade would be good for the Yankees, good for Pittsburgh, and good for Melky.

I want to know what Murphy asked in the last thread: how did the White Sox land Toby Hall as their backup catcher?

I'm opposed to trading him for a reliever when we have a bazillion candidates already employed.

When exchanging parts, you need to consider what hole your trade in is going to fill. The Yankees need another strong left handed reliever. The only way they address that without a trade is betting on Pavano to play the whole year healthy, and Igawa coming out of the pen in his first season with the Yankees. Paying Igawa $11 million a year to come out of the pen seems ridiculous.

Melky would ideally be traded for a starter, maybe in a package, but no one is going to give up a top starter (that's significantly better than what we already have) without the Yankees including something more valuable than Melky. That leaves us in our current position.

If the Braves are only getting Melky in the 3-way trade and sending out LaRoche, then why even bother with the Pirates at all?

Seems more worth our while to just cut out Pittsburgh and deal Melky for LaRoche straight up.

There was talk of Melky for LaRoche earlier, but that's faded. The other hot rumor of the weekend is that the Yankees want to sign Doug Mientkiewicz. Not the righty bat many hoped for, but if they can't get that, I'd be happy with his good glove.

15 I agree. Except for the fact that he's LH, and the team seems driven to get a RH. I wonder if Cashman doesn't have a series of trades in mind that yield ultimately a young C or a short term 1B solution.

The only thing that would make adding Gonzalez work would be demoting Beam or Britton or flipping Farnsworth. And would the Yankees be able to flip Farnsworth for something better than Melky?

As they stand right now, if the first baseman is lefty, the entire lineup sans Jeter and Arod will be left handed.

Probably too many. Although, I suppose it could be argued that the lefties in the lineup are too good for a lefty/lefty matchup to really effect them, but still, I would prefer to not be so lopsided.

However, if something comes along where a very good left handed first baseman comes along (LaRoche, Nick Johnson, etc.) then you can't just say no.

Of course, if that is the case, then it would probably be a good idea to fill the bench with righties. (even though, I think Kevin Thompson is the perfect 5th outfielder--still is regardless, I guess).

One of the first roster moves the Yankees made in the post-season was to add Sardinha to the roster. I'm hoping that means he's opened some eyes.

Maybe we could trade Farnsworth for LaRoche. I think they'd take welcome him back.

Or they could send down Beam. I like Bat-Boy, but IMO, he's not ready for prime time.

In 2003, he was traded at the deadline by the Boston Red Sox with Freddy Sanchez and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brandon Lyon, Jeff Suppan, and Anastacio Martinez.

Jul 22,2003 - Traded by Pirates with Scott Sauerbeck to Red Sox for Anastacio Martinez and Brandon Lyon.

Jul 31,2003 - Traded by Red Sox with Freddy Sanchez and Cash to Pirates for Anastacio Martinez, Jeff Suppan and Brandon Lyon.

What was up with that, I wonder?

The Red Sox reportedly want him back now. They are supposedly our main competition, but so far they don't have anyone the Pirates want.

"I don't really see myself playing past this contract," Rodriguez said on "Costas on the Radio"

"He was very matter of fact and there was no anger in his voice. It was a tone of resignation. He said a lot of the joy of the game was gone, and even if had a reasonable shot at breaking records, he would walk away from the game."

Man.... what have the Yankee fans, and media... but especially the fans, done to this guy? We have broken his spirit. Enjoy ARod as a Yankee this year... it will probably be his last.

If you want all that, you may as well keep Melky or give Kevin Thompson the job outright. You'd save a lot of money in the process and we wouldn't have to watch Shannon Stewart soil the pinstripes....

32 Why wait till then when the holes are apparent now? And when the options might have dried up?

Melky is a very young position player with MLB miles on him and a lot of upside. Mike Gonzalez is a reliever. Maybe a really good reliever. I still wouldn't make the deal.

I think you're right Schteeve.

In 357 minor league games, Melky has a line of .284/.347/.422 which is pretty good, but shows little power at his young age. The bulk of those games was at A ball and AA, so there is something to be taken from the fact that power will come later.

Bernie Williams hit .281/.395/.428 in 885 minor league games. He was never a power hitter, in the classic sense, but there's no denying what he meant to the Yankees in the 1990s. I can't say Melky will turn into Bernie, but their numbers are the same so far. People doubted Bernie early on, but you'll see his #51 in monument park someday.

I'm still not against the trade if it goes down, but there is an element of risk in dealing Melky. We could use a guy like him in 3 or 4 years. The only problem is that Bernie got the chance to play a lot by staying in the minors. Melky is with the big boys, and I'm afraid he won't play enough...

Let Damon channel Darin Erstad and play some 1B and keep Melky. Cabrera's done everything that has been asked of him in New York. I think it's stupid to let go of players that perform in NY (Lieber, Stanton, Nelson, Tino) for theoretical upgrades. I'd rather Cashman added the best new parts to a working core of players.

30 Wowzers, speak for yourself. I came on board as an A-Rod (and Andy Phillips) fan, and though I tease, it's mainly out of respect. Of course, no one in the media's gonna let A-Rod see anything his supporters have to say because it doesn't make good copy. But I guarantee they'll be the first ones at the the retirement buffett when it happens. Well, here's a mouthful of spit in the foodtray for all those Max Mercys who deem themselves manna from heaven.

To A-Rod, my generation's answer to Maris: the prayer of St. Jude, and good luck with that mouth problem. The best medicine for such a thing also happens to be the best solution for certain night club indulgences: keep it shut.

(disclaimer, read in an impossibly fast narrative: The rantings from Chyll Will were in no way intended to offend OYF or anyone associated with his point of view, but instead were a series of spank-you-very-muches directed at Max Mecy-type sports writers and their collegues who rationalize their viewpoints by citing the First Amendment and trickle-down economic theory. For more information about constitutional rights, lefts, voodoo and fictional characters who represent a majority of law-abiding citizens and tabloid columnists/byliners, please slap yourself vigorously with a Sunday copy of the NY Daily News soaked in Florida oil and vinegar, then send the resulting vibes to: gollum@lupica.com)

By ways of comparison,
Farnsworth: 66.0 IP, 4.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 10.23 K/9, 3.82 BB/9, 1.09 HR/9
Proctor: 102.3 IP, 3.52 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 7.83 K/9, 2.90 BB/9, 1.06 HR/9

And just for fun,
Mo: 75.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 6.60 K/9, 1.32 BB/9, 0.36 HR/9

I like him. He's younger than the current setup men and, for the most part, has better numbers. If he was on a different team, he'd probably have a higher profile than he does now, but if the Yankees do get him, I could see him as the successor to Mariano.

I'd hate to see Melky go, for all the same reasons everyone previously cited here. Maybe Cashman could work out a deal for Gonzo and keep Melky at the same time. If any GM could pull that off, he can.

But if the cost is Melky, why not pull the trigger now? I'm with mikeplugh in 38; I'm okay either way, but just as there's a real risk in trading Melky, there's also the real possibility that he won't be the next Bernie after all and that Gonzo might be a lights-out reliever with sustained success.

I just don't like the idea you proposed in 32 of waiting until the trade deadline to address a need when the options will have dwindled considerably by then.

And as for holes: the only big one seems to be catching depth. Which is what I hope Cashman stockpiled pitchers for.

I do think this year could be a fluke. As Cliff pointed out, he hasn't shown this kind of plate discipline in his minor league career. This season could prove to be a fluke.

I'm not convinced he has the range for CF, either. According to RLYW, he was way below replacement level on both offense and defense. Maybe he'll improve, but it's far from guaranteed.

We need pitching. I wish we had a stable of young stud starters, but we don't, and there's no way of getting that any time soon. The next best thing is a killer bullpen. I think this guy will be an upgrade on Farnsworth and Proctor, and maybe even Mo's successor. It's worth trading a fourth outfielder for that.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06352/746984-63.stm

According to them, there was never a three-way trade proposed between NY, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. The three-way trade was Atlanta, Boston, and Pittsburgh.

Littlefield wants LaRoche, but they think he'll end up going to LA.

They are interested in Melky:

===
The Pirates and Yankees have engaged in feeler-type talks regarding Gonzalez, but there is no firm word from Pittsburgh or Atlanta -- counter to the reports out of New York -- that those have included the Braves or any third party. Rather, they are focused on a deal that would send Gonzalez to New York for outfielder Melky Cabrera and another player, likely a pitching prospect.

It is not the first time the Pirates have inquired about Cabrera, 22, who hit .280 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs in 460 at-bats last season. He was the focus of their July talks with the Yankees that ultimately led to the Craig Wilson-Shawn Chacon trade.

One source in New York yesterday described the Pirates' interest in Cabrera as intense.
===

What if there was a Banter back in the summer of 1996, when Bob Watson traded Gerald Williams and Bob Wickman for Graeme Lloyd? To expand further, the Yankees sent a young outfielder (though not quite as young as Melky) who had ML experience, along with a bullpen arm (comparable to Britton? at least in physique...) for a lefty power reliever, who incidentally became an integral part of two World Series teams.

If there were a Banter back then, would we be doing the same hand-wringing about Gerald "Ice" Williams?