Yankees News:
- For those who love daily Mike Mussina and Gary Sheffield updates, Newsday is reporting that Moose will sign a two-year deal as early as this week in the neighborhood of $22 - 25 million. Of course, Sheff's $13 million option will be officially picked up by the team by Sunday night and before the deadline for the purpose of trading him.
- The Minnesota Star-Tribune is reporting that Justin Morneau will get close, but Derek Jeter will ultimately win the 2006 AL MVP due to Morneau's teammates [Joe Mauer and Johan Santana] splitting votes.
- A behind-the-scenes look at the bidding process for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is now officially up for grabs. The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, and Cubs are likely the biggest players for his services and we'll likely find out who will be the winning bidder later this week.
It's worth mentioning that Moose never filed for free agency as many of his peers did, so it is obviously just a matter of time before a deal is done.
Update [2006-11-5 20:0:58 by anaconda]: More Sheff:
- Peter Abraham of LoHud always has interesting inside info regarding the Yankees and he is hearing rumors about a Sheffield-for-Brad Lidge deal with the Astros or a Sheffield-for-Josh Bard deal and a prospect with the Padres.
What do you guys think of these rumors?
Personally, I would be ecstatic to get Lidge from the Astros for Sheffield. Sheff is gone no matter what we think and does have value in this current free-agent market, regardless of his attitude, due to the lack of talent available.
Lidge is a great talent despite his struggles last season and still managed 104 Ks in 75 IP during the 2006 campaign. I find it kind of hard to give up on a guy with his arm and a guy who owns a career strikeout ratio of 12.75 Ks/9 IP during his four big-league seasons.
Other Baseball News:
- Not exactly a shocker, but Pedro Martinez is considering the `R' word after a very disappointing and unhealthy 2006 season.
- For those of you who haven't heard, Twins' young phenom Francisco Liriano will undergo Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery on Monday and will undoubtedly be OUT for the 2007 season.
- I know this story is a few days old, but it cracks me up nonetheless. Former ESPN Baseball Analyst, Harold Reynolds, is reportedly suing his former network for $5 million due to his "wrongful firing."
- Don't laugh, but Sammy Sosa is only twelve dingers away from 600 homeruns and is eyeing a return to the major-leagues after a year of [cough] rest and relaxation.
Yankees fans should look no further than the injuries to Liriano and Jonathon Papelbon of the Red Sox as two primary examples of why they are treating Phil Hughes with kid gloves and limited his pitch count during his last two months of the season.