I enjoyed the Yankees 2000 interview, Alex... it's amazing how Mets fans don't understand why Yankees fans don't hate, and that it's more of a big brother/little brother type relationship. And you're right to say that everybody wants to be the Yankees' rival... it makes them feel important (and gets people more interested). I make this comparison a lot, but it's kind of like how lots of teams claim to be a rival of Duke basketball... Maryland for instance, but also other ACC teams. In reality, Duke fans care about one rivalry only. Same with Yankees fans: we appreciate your desire and dedication, Mets fans, but it's all about beating the Sux.

PS I would love to see Richie Sexton playing in the Bronx!

Anyone interested in the Loretta option at 1B?

It's even better than that, Tim. The Yanks are actually helped if Wright is neither healthy or effective. BECAUSE HE'S ON THE ORIOLES NOW.

4 Schteeve brought this up the other day, how having some high contact guys in the lineup might be useful, especially come playoff time. Loretta happens to be that kind of hitter (not many strikeouts, generally good AVG) but also knows how to take a walk. I think it might be worthwhile - especially because he could fill in at 2B, SS, or 3B for 2+ weeks and it wouldn't hurt as much as, say, playing Cairo all that time.

And if Loretta essentially served as the part-time 1B and the backup MI, you could even keep Phillips and Phelps around. (Or whatever two other 1B options you prefer.)

So, I would sign him to a one or two year contract, limited money, to be the primary back-up IF, and stick with the Phillips/Phelps experience (until or unless something real presents itself).

The key is to Torre-proof the team. Melky must be kept to prevent Bernie from returning and getting 400 ABs; Cairo must somehow be eliminated so doesn't get 200 or 300 ABs.

And the Yanks and Mets have no history together. The mets are a relatively young franchise here. Not many years in the 40 years have they both been good. We are just now starting to get it.

Growing up a Yankees fan, my Godfather was the VP of the Mets. Mookie was also my favorite player (even though I was a die-hard Yankees fan! I know, I know...). Anyway, I got all kinds of major perks and spent a lot of time at Shea Stadium. Was in Joe Torre's office, hung w/ Mookie & Hubie Brooks quite a bit and certainly noticed that Lee Maz had his "Italian Stallion" locker full, even in the offseason.

Only time I ever rooted for them was the '86 World Serious. Otherwise, I would say there was only ONE NY team and cheer for the Yanks. I would go to Shea and root for the other team. Good times.

I still have a bunch of Muts gear in NY at my folks house and it makes me none too happy, but it's cool nonetheless and I can't throw things out. At least most of it is hidden away, whilst the Yanks are well represented everywhere you look! : )

I used to be indifferent towards the Red Sox as well, believe it or not. It was only in the past few years that I began to actively root against them, mostly to spite Boston fans for their pathological levels of Yankee-hatred. It wasn't that long ago, though, when I actually disliked the Orioles or Mariners more than the Red Sox.

I think the bullpen is finally "Torre-proof" except that Proctor might pitch 150 innings this year. ;)

Its a 2 way street

Superman wears Scott Proctor pajamas.

...

"Superman wears Scott Proctor pajamas."

LOL!

You know, we might joke about Scott Proctor - more accurately, Torre's use of Proctor - but I like him. I always disliked Sturtze, because he was a bad pitcher and Torre overused him. At least Proctor is a good pitcher - when Torre doesn't overuse him, of course.

http://tinyurl.com/y5p24v

My favorite line:

[Melky] Cabrera sets the bar higher than you'd think. Indeed, he is the rarest of commodities in the Bronx: an underhyped Yankee.

it won't be easy saying goodbye to bernabe, from a personal standpoint... : ~

What I don't like is the idea of that giving us space to open a roster spot for Bernie. I love Bernie; he's been and always will be a great Yankee. I'm proud that he was all ours for the entirety of his career. But it's time to hang it up I think. I don't think Mr. Torre can resist the temptation of playing him when Melky ought to get the ab. I was of two minds on moving Melky when that story first broke. After thinking about it a little more I'm dead set against it now.

One pet peeve of mine....It's Richie Sexson not Sexton. Actually, it's a pet peeve because his parents spent long hard hours to come up with the name Richmond Lockwood Sexson, and a lot of people misspell the last name. ;)

I liked Alex' piece at Mets' Fantasy Yankee Curse or whatever the hell that site was. Good stuff. I also like this particular gem from Met world. I saw this at Deadspin.

http://tinyurl.com/y4c7tf

Think Big!!

http://tinyurl.com/y85976

I think he has some points about Melky's defense, but what's up with that bit about his temperament? I don't remember Melky showing that kind of anger on-field, and I certainly don't remember his ever being ejected. Did it happen in a minor league game, or is "Bucco" confusing Melky with somebody else?

hopefully we'll put the melky rumors to rest soon and be assured of keeping him. might linger for quite awhile though...

i'm hoping abreu has a monster full year in pinstripes and we pick up his '08 option. IIRC, it's for $16 mil, or something like that - a veritable bargain in today's nutty market...

Of course if we sign Schoeneweis and Doug Mientkiewicz we would all go crazy trying to spell their last names (also, the equipment manager would be glad that the Yankees only put the numbers on the jerseys).

http://tinyurl.com/ydglop

I don't know what that other blogger is talking about. Hothead is the last word I'd think of when describing Melky.

And what a great tip: watch for Gonzalez to disappear from the Pirates banner. That's when you know a deal has been done.

I remember a passage in Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock's 'The Bronx Zoo' where Lyle talks about The Mayor's Trophy game. I think some young infielder (Brian Doyle?) made a game saving stop to send the game to extra innings at Shea. All the Yankee vets were mad at him. They wanted to lose the meaningless exhibition and go home. Instead this kid saved the day and made them play extra innings.

Failing Huff and Craig Wilson (can catch!!!), I think Lorretta and (Phillips or Phelps) make the best infield bench available on the free agent market.

Don't miss them.

Man, if Kei is even half as good as that movie (for its genre), the Yanks indeed got a steal.

Speaking strictly of Elvis impersonations, I went to a pizza place in Getty Square (Yonkers for the widely uninitiated) looking for a pepperoni roll for me and my uncle. On the wall was a big oil painting of a young Elvis in a light blue hazy background, almost reverential-like for lack of a better term. What Elvis Presley and pizza have to do with each other is way beyond me, since his favorite food was peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches... or so I heard... anyway, I asked for a pepperoni roll and the guy behind the counter points to a round, mishappen glob of grease, crust and garlic.

Wow, is that really pepperoni and cheese I asked three times, afterwhich I bought it out of politeness, for it was kind of insulting after the second time. Well, I took it home and popped it in the oven to reheat, microwaved some sauce, dipped and chewed.

The morals of this story are these: first, always trust your instincts, or you'll end up with a gut feeling. And not the kind of gut feeling you're gonna trust. Second, when you see a picture of Elvis hanging in a fast food joint that doesn't have peanut butter and fried banana on the menu, walk away and don't look back. All restaurants have a tell, like that golden smiling cat, 10 or more pieces for $4.99 or cartoon animals hawking anything but what they serve. And third, always mention something relevant to what someone of great import is talking about before going on tangents like these.

Jump-cut to 35 say NO to new Cairo. That's like New Coke to a roomful of Pepsi drinkers. We need Loretta or anyone else to be the utility-infield composite of Scott Brocius and Clay Bellanger, with a twist of Luis Sojo. My suggestion is to fly Andy and Josh to Venezuela or the Dominican Republic and have them do push-ups until the end of February.

"I'm trying to lead a team like Sandy Koufax did, and I need an owner who shares that desire."

Wow. Ambitious. Leading a team in the post season like Jeff Suppan might suffice.

Anyway, here's hoping the Melkman stays. I wouldn't mind adding Loretta as the ultility man, but I do not want him at 1B. Don't get me wrong, I don't want ManCaveItch either. Heck, at this point I'm leaning toward just accepting an Andy Phillips v. Josh Phelps position battle.

I suppose what I'd really like is Matsui at 1B and Melky in LF with Kevin Thompson as the 4th OF, but that assumes a number of things.