OK, armchair GM’s and dimestore psychologists…time to speak up. First, here’s Jon Heyman’s tweet:

#royals sought montero & nunez from #yankees for greinke, who told kc he’d go. but yanks werent convinced ny was right for kid

The Yanks apparently had a shot at getting Greinke but didn’t have any confidence that it’d be the right spot for him.

Would you have pulled the trigger? Why or why not?

It’s that time of year again—prospect season! Once all of the big names have flown off the board and chosen their destinations, the holiday season significantly slows down the news and transactions of major-league teams, but when that happens, prospect lists start rolling off the presses. Kevin Goldstein, John Sickels, and Baseball America have already started with some of their lists and will continue through the holidays, and Keith Law, Project Prospect, and others will begin their analyses in the coming weeks. In the spirit of the season, I figure we would turn away from the free-agency/trade rumors and move toward prospects, but this won’t be a Yankee Top 10 list. What I want to do is start thinking like a GM in regard to prospects (I plan on doing similar series later on—Spring Training, Trade Deadline, and the Off-Season—next year), and we’ll start with prospects and the draft. I’m going to “suggest” (these are obviously my opinions) certain things, but feel free to argue or bring up anything I’ve left out. We’re all here to learn.

Draft/Sign the Best Player Available Regardless of Money

This is somewhat of a clichéd statement, but its truth still stands. We can argue over who the “best available player” is (we’ll discuss that in a minute), but no team should ever let money into their argument for who to pick. It can come in later when negotiating, but it shouldn’t be used unless the players under consideration are so close in talent that the price is the main difference. Can’t afford it? Let’s take a look at some information

(Posterisk—I am awful at Excel, and I asked Peter Hjort at Capitol Avenue Club for some help on how to manipulate the data. Originally, I gave him a formula, and he responded with how to command Excel to do it, which ended with the phrase “click/drag D1 as far down as you need to”. Me being an idiot, I clicked and dragged, but nothing happened. After 5 minutes of tinkering and thought, I realized that I needed to copy the box I put the formula in and paste in the rest of the cells, and Abracadabra, numbers appeared! Unfortunately, those numbers made absolutely no sense. Pondering this for a minute, I realized that the formula was wrong, and it took me several tries to get the correct one—or at least the one that had numbers that made sense. My original formula—(C2+B2)/C2. My final one—(B2/(C2+B2))*100. Conclusion: This is still one of the most advanced things I’ve done with a spreadsheet. Anyway, back to the data)

(click “view full post” to read more)

UPDATED 12/17/10, 9:30am: Jon Heyman has the details (via Twitter):

feliciano is close to a deal with #yankees. will get $4 mil a yr, 2 yrs plus, an option

Might be a bit high for a LOOGY, but with Marte out all year, the Yanks need another lefty in the pen this year. At least they didn’t go three years guaranteed and I hope that option is a team option.

UPDATED 12/17/10, 10:15am: Ken Rosenthal has an update (via Twitter):

Feliciano deal with #Yankees will be 2 years, $9M, plus a club option.

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Per RAB (with a Bob Klapisch tweet):

According to Bob Klapisch, the Yankees are getting close to a deal with lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano. Our anonymous source that’s both close to the situation and a friend of someone involved in he negotiations who asked not to be named but is a baseball person confirms that the two sides are close. Terms of the deal are unknown, but Scott Downs got three years and $15M while Randy Choate got two years and $2.5M, so I bet it’s somewhere between the two. With any luck, it’ll be a one year deal.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mike Axisa: I’m OK with Feliciano as he’s the typical LOOGY, if used properly, but I do not want to be the lastest team who gets snookered into giving a set-up guy a three year deal. The Mets misused and overused Feliciano, having him lead the NL in appearances each of the last three years. It’s a concern.

His career lefty/right splits:

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Admittedly, I am a good day or so late on the unfortunate death of Yankees fan Steven Smith. Not that I didn’t see it yesterday, but I struggled figuring out how I wanted to discuss it.

Discussing the death of a figure like Bob Feller is easier because we all know of him and we know can review his career exploits and war stories rather quickly. However, the tragic death of a 24 year-old is not something we’re all equipped to handle.

I did not know Smith, known in the Twitterverse as @stevensmithy. I wish I had.

Smith is exactly why I started this website nearly three years ago: to have the dialogue about my favorite teams with other fans. I’ve come to know many of you, including the folks who write with me here, in a virtual sense, having only met a few of you personally. While it’s unfortunate, I feel as if we’ve been able to bond over our shared love for the pinstripes and the game of baseball. I consider you part of my circle of friends, even as we’ve never actually met. I’m incredibly thankful for those of you who comment here and online at Twitter or Facebook. It’s my hope to run into many more of you during the 2011 season.

So with the spirit and memory of @stevensmithy as a backdrop, thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and feelings. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

First Cliff Lee, now Kerry Wood?

In a move that surprised even the Cubs, former staff ace and closer Kerry Wood agreed to return to his baseball roots and sign with his original team for one year, $1.5 million, according to a source. [...]

Wood also considered a one-year, $3.5 million offer from the White Sox before following his heart back to the North Side, where he maintains strong relationships with Cubs‚ front office personnel, as well as several former teammates still with the club.

Someone trying to get me to change my URL?

Rather than that, I have added Wood to the anti-IIATMS roster, as you can now see on the righthand side of the page, joining Lee and Marco Scutaro. Feel free to let me know who, in recent vintage, has also taken materially less than the highest offer.

I’ve had this surgery and while it isn’t considered “major”, you can’t be happy when your newly-acquired catcher needs additional surgery before the season. Joel Sherman has the news (via Twitter):

Russ Martin needs knee surgery, #Yankees say came up in physical, don’t consider serious, signed anyway

Of course, he missed most the last third of 2010 with a torn labrum in his hip fracture in his hip (h/t to Jay Jaffe for the corrections). As a reminder what happened:

“Russ had a traumatic injury,” Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said, meaning as opposed to a degenerative hip injury. “We’ll go through a process with him. This is a very significant injury, so we want to be absolutely sure that we’re treating it correctly.”

Martin’s injury is different from the hip injury that caused New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez to miss the first month of the 2009 season because Martin’s injury is traumatic, meaning it occurred as the result of a single incident, where Rodriguez’s was degenerative, meaning it occurred over time.

So there’s that… and also the news that the RedSox have reached an agreement with Bobby Jenks, who would have been a great fit for the Yanks.

From Buster Olney:

Heard this from two sources: With the Jenks signing, BoSox payroll is actually higher than NYY. But the Yankees still have moves to come.

Evil Empire II, fo’sho’. Bringin’ the scrappy, gritty and gutty to a ballpark near you.

John Sickels is the guru of minor league rankings. Here’s his top 20 Yankee prospects for 2011.

Just a guess who Sickels ranked #1?

(click “view full post” to see the entire list)

As we wait for Andy Pettitte to make his decision, a few thoughts…

Like most of you, I have long been an Andy Pettitte fan. Through thick and thin, I have admired Andy Pettitte. Not just the pitcher; the man, too. Sure, he has his scarlet letter to mar his legacy and I’m far from naive enough to simply ignore it. But I won’t let it define him. That’s just me. You’re welcome to judge Andy’s transgressions within your own kalidescope of values and vision.

I have long respected Andy’s out-front and honest debate about whether it’s time to hang ‘em up and return home for good, to be that full time parent that he seems to truly want to be. As a father, I can completely appreciate the speed at which our kids grow up and the desire to be around as much as life dictates and/or allows.

I read a Tweet from Jon Heyman last night that had me thinking about Andy way too much. First, the Tweet:

pettitte thought likely to return because family supports it. but friend says andy, upset over low ’09 base, wont accept a “lowball” offer

My first thought was that Andy would be best served to let 2009 go; his lowball 2009 salary was doubled in 2010. That got me looking back into my archives about the 2008 off-season, Pettitte’s prior comments and some things jumped out at me.

(click “view full post” to read more)

Sad news for the Cleveland Indians organization, the MLB family and servicemen and women around the world:

Bob Feller, the Iowa farm boy whose powerful right arm earned him the nickname “Rapid Robert” and made him one of baseball’s greatest pitchers during a Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Indians, has died. He was 92.

Feller was about as good as they come, breaking into the majors at –a what’s now unheard of– seventeen years of age in 1936. His career numbers are staggering but let’s remember that Feller was not only one of many to serve in WWII, he was the first to enlist:

Stirred by Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy the following day — the first major league player to do so. He served as a gun captain on the USS Alabama, earning several battle commendations and medals.

Feller missed his age 23-25 (and most of his age 26) years of age due to his service in the war. Prior to the war, his win totals were 17, 24, 27, 25. Upon his full time return, he posted 26, 20, 19 win totals. In those seven consecutive full seasons pitched by Feller, he lead the league in strike outs every one of those years. And in three of those seven season, Feller eclipsed 300 innings, reaching a high of 371.0 over 42 starts (48 total appearances) in 1946 , his first full year after the war. That’s a 10.1 WAR for those favoring those new-fangled stats.

Feller was elected to the HOF in 1962 with 93.8% of the vote.

Rest well, Rapid Robert. Thank you for your contributions to this great game and to this even greater country which allows us to enjoy baseball and life freely.

Still looking for some good news to get yourself past the Cliff Lee news? Try scout Frankie Piliere’s latest take on Jesus Montero:

At his size, he’s going to have to put in additional work to stay flexible and athletic, and his defense will always be something that requires extra attention. But the idea of him being simply unable to catch at the next level is one that is still vastly overblown. As I’ve stressed numerous times over the last year, like many elite big-league sluggers, if he reaches his ceiling as an offensive force he’ll never be known for his defense. That does not mean he can’t be adequate behind the dish.

There’s plenty more in there to read about the Yanks’ farm system but Frankie leaves us with this:

In other words, the future of the Yankees is safe, but only if it’s handled correctly and given a real chance to blossom. How much of a chance Montero really gets at that starting catching job in 2011 will tell us just how willing the Yankees are to embrace their youth.

We can only hope so.

Yeah, this might not have been thought through completely:

Former Mets/Yankees hurler Dwight “Doc” Gooden was slated to mix drinks last night at Sofrito — a NY restaurant of fellow bballer Carlos Beltran — but a rep for the event told us Doc couldn’t serve drinks “due to legal reasons.” Turns out Dwight is on probation for DWI.

We’re told Doc was a big sport and volunteered to work in the kitchen — and the reviews are glowing … he makes a “kick ass paella.”

So he’s got that going for him, which is nice. Who doesn’t enjoy a kick ass paella?

So sayeth the guys at BtB:

From the Silver Lining Society: Beckett and DiceK are also a better-than-50%-bet to hit the DL. And what’s Pavano doing with “only one” previous trip to the DL? Guess being on the DL for 3 years straight counts only as “one trip”. Bah.