No offense to those who follow basketball or hockey, but from the Super Bowl to 'pitchers and catchers' there is not much reason to open the sports section in the daily paper.

This fills the void and got me pumped. Thanks, Cliff. Great stuff!

And worst, these comments will be simply copied and pasted tomorrow...

[wretch]

Don't think that the presence of either Phelps or Phillips will cause the bench to sag as much as it did when the likes of Raul Mondesi and Terrence Long rode the pines. Staying on topic and not roaming out of the base lines into my other pressing fears, more upset about how the Giambino will do as full time DH and whether Minky will hit .280. Oh, for Johnny Mize or Chris Chambliss (both lefty batters).

I'm sure Bernie sees this option and isn't happy about the option taken by Cashman.

I'm going with:
D.) None of the above

but

E.) All of the above

is also correct?

Excellent analysis, Cliff.

Word, 4 Bklyn.

Damon, Jeter, Abreu, A-Rod, Giambi, Matsui, Posada, Cano -- I think the Yankees will be fine with a glove rather than a bat at first.

1) Are we really going to carry two "defensive" players at the position where defense matters the least? This seems completely irrational.
2) I understand the Phillips "versatility" argument, but let's face it -- we already have one versatile utility infielder in Miggy. Do we really need two versatile utility infielders who can't hit? Unless we're betting that Andy is going to come around this year?

I guess everything depends on what happens in the Spring, but if Phelps hits, I would be inclined to cut Mr. Phillips loose and keep an extra RH bat on the bench. Minky can always be used as a defensive replacement for Phelps late in the game. But then again, if we're keeping a RH bat on the bench, wouldn't it have made more sense to keep Bernabe with his .323/.387/.549/.936 splits vs. LHP?

It seems like a clusterF to me...

Instead he was given 100 AB's to prove himself. That's just plain absurd.

And Pena I agree with. Why not give him a Spring invite and tell him he has a legit shot to win the job?

If they were going through the scrap heap any ways, they should have tried to bring in anyone and everyone (Choi and Perez included) even remotely close especially because they'll end up settling for MCI and Josh Phillips.

Isn't it even worse that they just annointed Phillips last year? It's like they're a year late and a few dollars short doing what they should have done in 2006. Weird.

P.s. I don't doubt I venture close to fantasy at times. Still, what grade do you give Cashman for the off-season? It's not an A. Is it a really B though? Even a B-? That feels like a stretch to me.

Also, hopefully Andy Phillips will learn to be a little more patient at the plate. After a slow start last April (when his wife was battling cancer and he was making trips home to Alabama on off days) he rebounded with a great May & June (.324/.342/.543 & leading the team in triples). Of course he lost his job after a terrible July (.165/.208/.483) when he looked clueless at the plate at times.

Maybe Andy can regain that May/June stroke. But my fear is that the league has figured him out. Not to mention that he seems like the type of hitter that needs to play everyday to get into a groove. Plus, he did not do well against lefties last year. Not good traits for a right handed platoon man.

Oddly enough, Phillips did much better against righties than lefties last season (OPS .775 vs. .476). Mientkiewicz hit slightly better against leftie pitchers last season (.794 vs. .764.) Makes me wonder why a platoon of two mediocre players is worth doing.

The Yanks might have been better off using either Mientkiewicz, Phelps or Phillips full-time at first and using a DH platoon of Sheffield and Giambi.

As for grading the GM, that sounds like a post idea, but I'd say B+ would be fair. His primary task was the rotation and in a frightening pitching market he got Mussina at a discount, Pettitte on a one-year deal, Igawa at a great post-bid price, and loaded up the farm system by dumping aging/injury-prone vets of dubious value and significant expense rather than the inverse, which has been the case in the past. All of the organization's top prospects are still here and the team seems prepared to trust their young arms in the rotation and the pen. That's all far more valuable than the miniscule improvements that could have been made at back-up catcher or utility infielder. Certainly he could have done better in those spots and at first base, but that's why it's a B+ and not an A of some kind. Besides, sore subject that it might be, he gets extra credit for finally cutting bait on Bernie. One thing Cash has shown a particular knack at these past two winters has been knowing when to get rid of someone and in some cases managing to get value in return for unwanted parts (Womack, Chacon, Wright, even Sheff).

That B+ seems inflated, especially in your grading system.

I agree 100% on Moose and Pettitte. And the Shef trade.

Igawa is still an unknown. But I don't think he gets much credit on the post-bid contract. That flowed very easily from the Dice-k deal. It was just slotting him in.

But you're right - he gets credit on the arms (esp. all pre-Unit deal). No complaints there. Again a solid A.

So a solid A up through the mid-term of Pettitte. The Unit deal IMHO knocks him down a notch (more because he had the D'backs by the balls - a rotation of Webb and Livan and nothing else - and got little of value to the 07 Yanks. I know there's significant disagreement there.) Say A-.

Then 1B seems like it knocks him down to a B. That's a full-time player (600 AB's) and he ends up with Doug Phelps Phillips. That's like failing an easy multiple choice exam - miserably. So a B.

Then the UIF and BUC. Again, that just feels like another failed exam - he really could have done no worse. If between the two they get another 600 AB's, I don't see how Cashman doesn't get knocked down to a C+. Maybe if they only get 300 AB's combined, then he's a B-.

And me, I don't feel comfortable giving extra credit for Bernie. He was a mistake last year that worked out for the absolute best (his numbers and Melky).

So I guess it all depends on how much weight you place on the full-time player (1B), the potential full-timer (UIF/BUC), and if the Unit trade was good, bad, or neutral.

It's a minor complaint but a complaint nonetheless.

18 I agree that I would have liked the Yanks to have gotten more for RJ, but still, he's a 43-year-old coming off back surgery who may not even be ready to start the season. We may be asking too much. On the flip, I don't agree that Bernie worked out for the absolute best. He hurt them in the field and got 287 at-bats from the left side against just 150 from the right.

Last year Cairo, Stinnett & Fasano combined for about 350 at-bats, 425 exactly if you throw in Nick Green.

1. Damon CF
2. Jeter SS
3. Abreu RF
4. ARod 3B
5. Giambi 1B
6. Matsui LF
7. Cano 2B
8. Posada C
9. Cabrera LF

w/ Scrabble coming in for defense in the 7th, 8th or 9th.

That line-up would be sick and would more than make up for Giambi's defensive shortcomings IMHO, especially since Giambi hits better when he plays the field.

And Bruney at age 24 put up a 503 ERA+ (really!) in 20 IP. RHRP pitchers are a frisky bunch. Still, if I'm the Yanks I say: "We pay that same 4 million to Wright and cut him loose on the open market. How much do you think he's worth?".

I think that's a place where if they waited longer (with where the market ended up), Wright would have looked alot more attractive (at 3 mil/1 year) and the price would have been higher than Britton. Still, it's really a minor complaint on my part. If Cashman did everything else right, that wouldn't have affected his grade in my book.

There's room for alot of disgreement on Unit and we've shown that here this off-season. They got four mL players. I would have preferred one.

Bernie - I should have said "they got the absolute best that they could have expected".

And yup on the bench AB's. It could be worse - it could be better. Still, apart from swapping Melky for Bernie (which was actually close this off-season if you believe the Gonzo rumors), I can't imagine the bench being any worse. That's a stomach punch and a groin kick for all 300 to 600 of those AB's.

The Devil Rays are probably not going to need both Choi and Pena, maybe even neither of them. Maybe Chris Shelton goes 0 for Spring Training, and Detroit has him in AAA to start the year. Maybe Atlanta decides Craig Wilson is expendable for a bullpen guy. And so on.

Cashman has always shown a great ability to upgrade midseason. I expect that, unless Phelps/Phillips hits very well, the guy playing 1B for the Yanks on August 1st may be someone not even on the 40-man right now.

22 You've got two LF's and no DH. Still I understand and agree completely. That's a nice internal upgrade in May if anyone comes to their senses.

Maybe Carlos Pena left a poor taste in the organization's mouth after his AAA stint last summer. Or maybe Pena was so ticked he didn't get a shot with the Yanks that he wouldn't even consider signing with them now.

Maybe Craig Wilson was ticked off about not just being left off the ALDS roster in favor of Phillips but also not being asked to travel with the team if an injury happened. Or maybe he left such a bad impression on Torre & Co. that they told Cashman not to re-sign him.

Of course I'm just speculating. But its worth remembering that we don't have all the info when we evaluate what the Yanks could/should/would have done this offseason with these guys.

Easy. He gets mad props for Justice and Abreu. But CF in 2005 showed otherwise.

Still, you're right regarding 1B. But the problem is whoever it is they'll need to come in and produce right away or else they get Wilsoned.

That's the problem with mid-season upgrades. You lose the trial period of Spring Training to impress the decision makers. Given that they had all of 2006 to see the problem at 1B, that makes this off-season so much worse in my mind (sorta like CF in 2004 and 2005).

Great again, Cliff. My only query is if it really is that much of a loss if Phelps is sent back to the Orioles, considering that they'd only have paid $25k for having him at all if they do. In the long run, Bernie could opt to do a Clemens and wait for mid-season, and in the meantime work out at first in anticipation of an open spot. If it were me and as he stated he'd work out in hopes of getting a call later, I'd get my 1B mitt ready.

At any rate, if Bernie were to finagle his way back in, I'd say that the least bit of drag would be the RH platoon at first if the current platoon doesn't work out. Hey, I said my good-byes already, but I acknowledge the argument that he could have been a better platoon option were it not for Scrabble and Miggs...

On another note, what about Ronnie Belliard for RH1B/UIF? I was among those hoping for Loretta for UIF, but Belliard is still out there, somehow, and is Right-handed... 4mil/yr, think it would be worth it and would he go for it? The upside might not be worth the effort/$$/reduction in flexability though; what i like about the mkz signing is how expendable he is. I'm hoping for Sexon to come in mid-season in exchange for Pavano straight up (with Hughes taking Pavano's slot) ;). Did I just say Pavano? Sorry!

At 1B, Craig Wilson is the obvious example. He is exactly what the Yankees need, but for some reason things didn't go too well in 2006. As mentioned above, I don't think you can necessarily blame Cashman for not resigning him because it's likely that Wilson wanted no part of returning.

Similarly, you can throw out names like Gomez and Loretta all you want, but I simply don't think solid backups are going to target the Yankees when they can get lots more playing time elsewhere.

As for backup catcher, I honestly don't know what Cashman could have done. A guy like Zaun would have been useful, but it would have been silly to match the Jays offer for a backup.

As things stand, I am not too worried about 1B or the bench. Phelps is an interesting option and, at worst, Mienky should still provide solid defense. Should this combo prove to be a black hole, the Yankees have more than enough resources to address the problem. I think it would have been silly to break the bank now in pursuit of a Helton or Sexson when biding his time might allow Cashman to make another "Abreu-like" deal for a first baseman.

All kidding aside, while Wright did give the Yankees 140 league average innings, his inability to go beyond 5 innings was a major drain on the bullpen. With the key components of the Yankees reliever corps aging or just plain fragile, having a guy like Wright bow out after 5 is a luxury that the team can not afford. Also, it is important to keep in mind that Wright's 2006 season wasn't exactly the continuation of an established track record. In 2007, he is just as likely to be injured or just plain awful. That's not exactly an upside.

29 Belliard isn't exactly the answer either. As a UI, he would certainly be better than Cairo, but there is no way Belliard would sign on for such a limited role. I also don't see the value in signing him as a RH1B. Not only has he never played the position, but he might not even be as good a hitter.