to team friendly deals.

If I had to pick one, its Matsui cuz I’d rather have a DH than have Damon cuz he’s a part-time DH/Horrible defender…tho he can still steal time out there obviously.

I’d really be pissed if the OF was Melky, Gardner and Swisher. Swisher’s still good, but 2/3 of the OF has 4th OF playing too much…that’s bad.

If they signed Nady to play LF that might be OK. Not sure if his arm at this point is any good, and I know he doesn’t have the greatest range. He’d be a nice RH/OF bat off the bench or maybe to spell Swisher when he’s slupming.

It all depends on the contracts..

but ideally I’d let Damon walk (after offering arbitration…hopefully he walks from it), re-sign Mats for DH, then sign Matt Holliday for LF.

I know it would essentially be ‘6’ OF cuz Matsui is I guess an OF option, but Swisher is a part time LF and if they have a guy like Pena or even JHJ…utility players are good for something like that.

OFFER DAMON 2 YEARS IF NOT HAVE TO LET HIM WALK MATSUI IS BETTER HITTER

No matter what Boras says, the Yanks aren’t going to give Damon more than two years. If he can really get more than that on the open market- wish him all the luck, and peace out Johnny. Boras’ main argument is the Yanks gave multi-year deals to Mo and Jorgie, and will probably do so with Jeet, all in the mid to late thirties. The problem with that arugment is that those guys are life-long Yankees. While Johnny has been good in Pinstripes, and I love the guy- the Yankees owe him nothing.

If Matsui is amenable to a one year deal, do it. No more than that. It’s going to be more and more important in the coming years for the Yanks to keep the DH open, to be able to rotate the elder statesmen in and out of that spot.

All that said- I would love to keep them both- at reasonable terms- one year for Matsui, one or two for Johnny. If I had to choose one though- it would be Johnny, just because of the flexibility he offers over Hideki.

Out here in MASS that the Red Sox are Prepared to offer Matsui a multi year deal.

in the same outfield = Third Place.

the best option I see is resign Nady and Damon. Go for broke that Nady can be your full time LF option with DH Damon and CF Melky as insurance, Gardner backing up Melky with Ajax up first if needed.

This is roughly what the plan was going into last year, but with some guys in different places and no Matsui. In this scenario they also need to keep Hinske or add someone comparable instead.

I am all for staying out of the spending spree this year and going 100% balls out for Joe Mauer next year.

I don’t think we’ll see any of those scenarios. Cashman has a knack for working behind the scenes. Some other free agent, or a trade will happen.

sentiment that option A must have had a thumb on the scale.

Anyway, I think Damon may come easier than a typical Boras client, as this piece from RAB seems to indicate:

http://riveraveblues.com/2009/11/damon-boras-not-on-the-same-page-19838/

I love Matsui, but I can’t see re-signing a full-time DH, especially since Jorge is going to have to start to make a transition to DH tomorrow. A-Rod and Jeter are going to need more rest. Conclusion: We need the DH slot for aging position players.

The best course, imho, is re-signing Damon for a year, letting Ajax ripen and kicking Melky/Gardner into LF in 2011.

but option A is ridiculous. That outfield is a joke. Melky AND Gardner starting EVERY DAY???? I’m fine with platooning them, because then they could play the hot hand, but both in the lineup every day is going to kill us. Gardner is a fourth OF at best. Thats a fact. Yea, he can run and play defense, but if you can’t hit, you’re not playing. And Gardner can’t hit. He’s a mediocre hitter against bad pitching. When good pitching comes around, he looks lost (like in the WS). Melky and Gardner should platoon in CF next year w/ Melky getting most of the time. But both of them starting in the OF, at the same time, is going to be disastrous.

No to Holliday or Bay. We don’t need them. I’d like to see them bring Matsui and Damon back, but if they can only bring one back it should be Damon. He can still play LF and can still run the bases. His swing is built for Yankee Stadium, and he’s great in the clubhouse. If you ask me, he should take a leaf out of A-Rod’s book. Pretty much throw Boras out the window and negotiate a new deal himself if he really wants to stay, because Boras is only going to hurt Damon’s chances of remaining a Yankee. Damon, I think, should be brought back, unless the Yankees are unable to negotiate a fair deal (which, with Boras, is possible). Matsui? It depends. I love the guy, and he can still hit. But he can’t play the field. The Yankees need to determine how ready AJAX is and how much Posada can catch next season before committing more money to Matsui. Because if Jorge needs a ton of DH time, then Mats isn’t going to be playing as much as he would like. And if Austin Jackson is ready for a shot at the majors, then there also probably won’t be room for Matsui. So the Yankees need to figure some things out first with their team before they bring back Matsui. I’m hoping things work out.

Keep Swisher in right, he had a good season for us, and his career averages suggest that he will continue to perform at that level for a while. He’s 28, so he will most likely either stay where he is for 5ish years, or possibly get a bit better.

CF is a bit of a quandary. I’ve never believed that Melky is an everyday player, however I think Gardner could be. He plays a great defense, and can wreak havoc on the basepaths. His bat does need to improve a bit, and I think the best way he could do this is being more patient at the plate.

In LF, I would really like the Yankees to get Holliday. He’s still young, only 29 years old, so he has probably 6 or 7 years before he declines. He’s been a solid defensive player over his career, and a great offensive player. To put things in perspective, his 4 year average wOBA is .411. In Mark Teixeira’s best year (2008), he posted a wOBA of .410. Hello, would you like another Mark Teixeira in our lineup? Ummmmmm, YES PLEASE!

Finally, they should resign Matsui. Reasons: 1. the Red Sox apparently want him, we cannot allow that to happen. 2. He’s still a great hitter, even though he can’t really play the field anymore. 3. He’s likely to sign for much cheaper, and fewer years, than Damon. However, if Cashman will only sign Holliday if both Damon and Matsui are allowed to walk, then we need to do that.

Let them both walk. Sign Mike Cameron and shift Melky to LF.

Because he let Mark Mcguire change his batting stance and approach at the plate.The instant he changed back he started to hit.It had nothing to do with the AL.Really makes me wonder why St.Louis hired him as hitting coach?They had to know Holliday would not like this.