Torre has turned down a pay cut of $2.5 million guaranteed dollars in the form of a 1 year, $5 million dollar deal. If we made the World Series, he could have made more than this year with $3 million in potential incentives (for making each round of the playoffs) and a vested option for 2009 if we reached the World Series. Both Cashman and Levine say it's time to move on.

From Mark Feinsand:



Via Dave and Aziz.

What happens if, heaven forbid, Posada, A-Rod, Pettitte and Mo all leave? What do we do? Let's discuss the options that we have in our system and via free agency. Trades are a little too speculative, so I'm going to avoid them. That said, if we do lose all of these guys, we could very well turn our deep farm system into some players we can use now. I'm not much of a prospect guy, so I asked James those questions and he contributed to this post, as well.

Posada

He becomes the best free agent catcher by far. The rest of the free agent class is a whole lot of nothing. The bottom line is that if Jorge walks, Yankees fans need to curb the expectations that they have for a catcher - a lot. Offensively, at least. Because nothing else out there is going to produce like Jorge has. Not even close. Internally, we don't have anything. We need to bring someone in. The scary thing is that Jose Molina could be one of the best available. Nothing against Jose, but let's be honest. He's a career .243 hitter with a .279 OBA and .345 SLG. He can't hit. And that's like every catcher available.

The only other option I see, perhaps a crazy one - definitely a risky one, would be Michael Barrett. His personality is certainly questionable, but he hit .307 with a .367 OBA in 2006. He was far off those numbers this year, hitting .243 with a .281 OBA. But, his lifetime numbers are .266 and .322. He may be willing to take a one year deal to try to have a "walk off year" and get himself back on the map after this poor season and his negative exit from Chicago. He could be the best offensive catcher on the market not named Jorge. I'll take a shot at that.

A-Rod

Internally, Wilson Betemit could be an option. He'll be 26 on opening day. The most at bats he's had in a season is 373 in 2006, split between the Braves and Dodgers. He hit .263 with a .326 OBA, 18 homers and 53 RBIs in 373 at bats. In 2005, he hit .305 with a .356 OBA in 246 ABs. Third base is the position that he has spent the most time at (216 games). We don't have anyone that can come in from the minors and help us.

In free agency, there are really 2 guys that catch my eye. The first is Mike Lowell. There is one huge problem with Lowell - he played above himself this year, hitting .324 with 21 home runs, 120 RBIs and a .378 OBA. He's just not that good. If his contract reflects that sort of player, it'd be stupid to sign him. We'd just be setting ourselves up for another bad contract. So, I'll pass.

The other one is Pedro Feliz of the Giants. Yeah, I know, his average was .253 and his OBA was .290. But, he has had 4 straight years of between 20 and 22 home runs with between 72 and 98 RBIs. Plus, he's playing in more of a pitchers park than Yankee Stadium. So, he does drive in runs and he is a very good defender, from what I've read. He could be a dark horse. Once we get over the fact that he's not A-Rod and he doesn't get on base a lot, we may be able to appreciate the fact that he produces some runs and plays good D. He could be an affordable, durable and not ancient option.

That said, I think I'll take Betemit. Who knows what he'll do, but I'd like to find out. With him coming off the bench, we'll need to sure it up.

Pettitte

We already have Mike Mussina on the roster, so that would be a natural fill in, giving us a rotation of Wang, Hughes, Joba, Kennedy and Moose. But, Hughes and Joba will most likely have innings restraints on them, placing us in need of another starter or, more likely, a tag team of spot starters. From within, to start, perhaps someone like Kei Igawa, Steven White or Matt DeSalvo due to their AAA experience. Later in the year, we would be more likely to see one of the more promising talents - like Alan Horne, Jeff Marquez or Tyler Clippard.

Like Jorge, Pettitte would become the best available at his position if he doesn't come back to us. Beyond him, there isn't a heck of a lot that is very far above average. A lot of older and/or mediocre guys. Kyle Lohse, Paul Byrd, Freddy Garcia - take your pick. I would go with what we have.

Rivera

Kyle Farnsworth has been a closer before... just kidding. Francisco Cordero is absolutely the guy to sign. He's never played for a big market, but he has pitched 13 games in Yankee Stadium and has a 2.08 ERA. He has a 3.38 ERA in Fenway. He will be 32 years old on opening day and has put together a very good career. He has never had the opportunity to pitch in the postseason and this may be his big opportunity to choose his destination. So, if he wants to get a ring, he may be looking to come to a contender.

The Yankees have some talented youngsters - J.B. Cox, Humberto Sanchez, Mark Melancon - but their time isn't now. Not at closer, anyway. Sign Cordero and allow one of them to grow into the role at their own pace, under him. Melancon could be the first to get a shot at Major League hitters.

Looking at this, the hardest guy to replace is going to be Posada, followed by A-Rod and then probably Mo and Pettitte. Let's hope we don't have to go without any of them.

Another day, another statement from Howard Rubenstein. Nadda.

Peter Abraham reports that there were apparently 2 separate meetings held in Tampa yesterday. The first had Cash, the New York based executives and the brothers Steinbrenner. The second was the brothers, Felix Lopez and George Steinbrenner. There are different ways this could be spun. I'm not going to speculate...

In the first inning of last night's ALCS game 4 with no outs and no score, in the first at bat of the game, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia tried to slap the ball away from Victor Martinez with both hands. Picture here.

I never really got all of the nonsense about A-Rod's slap play. I mean, he's A-Rod and people are looking for a reason to bash him (and the Yankees), but it's just baseball. It was the 8th inning of game 6 of the ALCS with 1 out, trailing by 3 runs. You're trying to scratch, claw and fight for any break. Note, I'm not defending A-Rod's play. It was a bad play and he got called on it. I had wanted him to plow straight through Arrojo who would have partially been in the baseline. Just run straight to the baseline and hit Arrojo on the way - no hand movement. It would have started a fight, but that's life - part of his body was in the basepath. Alas, he didn't and he made an out. That's baseball, it happens, move on.

See, I'm not the type of fan who engages in nasty hostilities. I love the Yankees as much as anyone else, but I don't take that to the level of being nasty to fans of other teams or to loudly rooting against others. I'm friendly with some Red Sox fans. When we beat them in 2003, I didn't send them any messages. That was a bad time and, when you win, you win with class, I believe. So, I'm not going to dump on them when they're down. And I didn't. Similarly, I expected them to do the same when they beat us in 2004. And they did.

This A-Rod slap thing really got into the "nasty hostility" category and that is unfortunate. And now, we have this Pedroia "slap play". What to make of it? On the first at bat of the game, even? Pretty much the same that I made of the A-Rod play. It was a bad play, he got called on it, move on. There are certainly some Red Sox fans that could use a little reminding, but there are jerks on both sides. I get a little laugh from it, knowing how some treated A-Rod, but that's it. I'm not forwarding the picture to 500 people, posting it on every sports community online or IMing every Red Sox fan I know. It was a bad play, he got called on it, move on.

Peter Abraham has a statement from Howard J. Rubenstein. Summation: nothing to report. The meetings will continue tomorrow.

Don Mattingly's agent has commented on the report that cited a friend of Mattingly as a source, saying that Mattingly had told a member of he Steinbrenner clan that he was not ready to manage.

The agent, Ray Schulte, says that he spoke with Donnie and that this is untrue. He goes on to say that Mattingly wants Torre to come back, but if he doesn't, he's ready to go.

Top Yankee officials begin meetings today to discuss where the franchise goes from here. Joe Torre's future, in the Bronx, at least, could very well be decided today. This comes off the heels of a report by Ed Price, who spoke to a friend of Don Mattingly to learn that Mattingly has told a member of the Steinbrenner family that he is not ready to manage and is uncomfortable replacing Torre.

Via Dave and Aziz.

Ed Price says that a team official told him that they will discuss recently fired pitching coach Leo Mazzone. His business manager told the Baltimore Sun that Mazzone would have an interest in the Yankees.

Meanwhile, Mark Feinsand says that Guidry seems to be headed out no matter what, with former Yankee Dave Eiland appearing to be the leading candidate (thanks, in part, to his work with the young guys who will now be a big part of our team in 2008).

Honestly, I feel bad for Guidry. I like him and how much of what went on is really his fault? I think it's an unfortunate situation for Gator.

Via Ben and Yahoo!