Well, it's about time. The Angels have started their discussions with Free Agent Happy Meal, CC Sabathia and are rumored to offer something along the lines of Johan Santana's contract. As a Yankees fan, I'm mildly relieved. Sabathia had said at the end of the season he wanted this thing done quickly, but there was no way he was taking the first offer without at least seeing what else was out there, particularly on the west coast where he said he would like to play. With whatever the Angels offer, the Yankees are sure to offer substantially more, and the original figure probably already eliminated every fringe team from the bidding. With the Dodgers sure to pursue Manny Ramirez and the Angels with a dire need to resign Tex, I can't see any west coast team realistically affording Sabathia. That leaves the Mets who have no connections and are already in the Santana contract, and the Red Sox who haven't had any dialogue with the big lefty, as teams able to afford anything near what the Yankees can offer.
I doubt Burnett, Lowe, Perez, Sheets, or any other significant free agent starter sign along the dotted lines until the big man falls somewhere because his contract will pave the market for the rest of the off-season. Fully knowing the Yankees will probably overpay with extra money since they both have extra cash and are in desperate need of a starter, those other hurlers would be wise to add this potential contract to their negotiation arsenals. So that brings us back full circle, now with a third team involved, the Sabathia market is officially forming, and hopefully by the winter meetings this whole mess can sort itself out.
The Yankees have taken care of their lesser needs by signing an insurance policy in Sergio Mitre and a versatile, young, offensive player in the Nick Swisher trade, so now they can concentrate on their two big name starters. I tend to agree with the proposed outlook of Brian Cashman with the offense, which is that it will improve internally with Brett Gardner's speed as opposed to Melky Cabrera's arm; Cano and A-Rod having big years; Jeter, Posada and Matsui being healthy and in the lineup (and Matsui DHing most of the time to stay healthy) and guys like Nady and Damon staying the course. It will be interesting to see what Kevin Long has accomplished with Cano's stance and approach, and if he can turn Gardner into a slap-happy, slice hitter, instead of a speed merchant who hits fly balls. I think we started to see the adjustment last September, but I wouldn't bank on it after seeing how artificial September stats can be. Meanwhile, if New York does manage to acquire two starters, a signing of one of them would probably bring Andy Pettitte back, which would then make Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy extra insurance, rather than an essential part of the rotation.
This means the Yankees go into battle with eight potential starters without including Alfredo Aceves or Phil Coke, who for now I will assume will do work in the bullpen, though Coke is supposed to transition back into the starter role. Really, unlike last year, when you had seven starters, and three were rookies and two were Rasner and Karstens, now you have 10 starters, and two are rookies, while Karstens is in the morgue of MLB (Pittsburgh) and Rasner is out of American Baseball altogether, buddying with Yu Darvish in Japan. Instead of multiple DHs you have Damon in left full-time, Matsui primarily the DH, Nady fitting in nicely to replace Abreu, and the rest of the lineup pretty much intact and presumably healthy. In the rotation, you could see three front-line starters, plus Joba Chamberlain who pitches like one but will be on an innings limit, and then a guy like Andy Pettitte who could probably overachieve in the back of the rotation with a clean slate and no distractions this season.
That's a lot more of a clearer picture on the Yankees' roster for a team who won 89 games and had the fourth best record in the American Leage in the hardest division in baseball last season. And with the Red Sox probably going to war with more or less the same roster (though presumably also healthier) and the Rays coming off a year where they always had at least five of their six starters healthy at the same time, I don't think that gap is as far as people would lead you to believe. This wasn't a .500 Yankees team, it was a team victimized by being in a tougher division and losing out to two better, deeper, teams when the injury bug started biting. Well, if the depth problem gets fixed, now you've got a three-way battle that will last longer than early September. First thing's first, the Yankees need to get their soldiers, and the Angels moving in on Sabathia could be the first sign of progress in the Bronx.
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