Pedro could probably get guys out if you put him in the bullpen but he hasn’t been a reliable starter in a long time and I would hate to see him taking starts away from Hughes or worse yet Joba. I’m sure some team will give him the opportunity to start and that’s where he’ll go.

As for Papelbon he’d be a natural replacement for Mo since the Red Sox don’t seem to get into bidding wars to keep their guys, and he’s pitched well on the big stage. The guy I really like as a Mo successor, though is Joakim Soria who is younger and, I think, better. He won’t be a free agent by 2011 but he’ll be into his arbitration years and I think with the extra years left on his arm (most closers don’t last 15 years like Mo) he’d be worth overpaying for via trade.

It’s all about the Benjamins. Most, if not all of these guys will play for their “hated rival”, if their contract is up and their current team isn’t giving them enough “respect”.
 Which leads to the biggest contract question on the Yankees horizon. Jeter’s contract is up in 2011 also. He will be 35 next week. What to you offer the face of the franchise at the age of 37? Especially if Pena continues to develope as a hitter, we all know he can pick it. Did a beatiful job on that short hop throw from Cerevelli on the steal attempt last night.

Papelbon will be finished as a dominant closer by 2011. He’s already showing signs of wearing down.

He’s not Mariano Rivera, if he was smart he’d take a contract extension from the Red Sox now because it’s possible there won’t be any money out there for him in 2011.

I would lose all respect for the Yanks if they went and got either of these guys. They’re numbers 2 and 3 for me for most hated Red Sox, besides Curt Schilling.

Fans may hate the idea of Papelbon in pinstripes, but that’s because they see the rivalry from the outside. As players, both teams groove on the simple fact that it is the best rivalry in sports, and that being either a Yankee or a Red Sox player means that you get 18 regular season games a year with more playoff energy than some real playoff games. You cannot find, in professional sports, anything else like that.

Here is the thing about Mariano Rivera – sure, it makes sense that he would be done by 42. But the really unusual thing about Rivera, who has proven himself to be one of the dominant pitchers of his time, is that he took up pitching late in his development as a player. Because he was not throwing pitches competitively during most of his teen years, he is one guy who might easily roll on to his mid-forties.

I posted a comment in another blog the other day about how cool it would be to have Pedro and how much I despised Papelpunk and now this?? anyway, I’ve been thinking for a while that the one and only fit candidate to fill Mariano’s position would be Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. I think is very interesting how he signed only a 3 year contract , like knowing that the Yanks would need to replace Mo around that time and that Hank will be an open wallet when it comes to signing a top-notch closer. They do have very large shoes to fill up when Mo retires and I don’t think Papelpunk would be the answer. He’s indeed overrated and probably knows by now hat having a world series ring doesn’t guarantee anything monetarily-wise from the Sux ownership (look what happened with Johnny Damon) they have (and will) always try to wind championships on a budget, no wonder they only have three in a hundred years with two of them with and asterisk thanks to Manny.