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No to Thome, we've got Giambi. What is Bob Matthews thinking, huh!?

As Cashman said, the team needs to get younger. Of course Cashman may not be around much longer but rather in Philadelphia as their GM and would gladly dump Thome on the Yankees.

What is Bob Matthews thinking, huh!?
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To be a "sports journalist" it seems that thinking isn't a requirement of the job.

FWIW, I'd resign Leiter as a LOOGY (or maybe a lefty arm in the pen), if he's interested in coming back for another year.

Trading for Thome would fit the Yanks' MO for taking on bad contracts. Not sure who they'd give up in return, tho' Pavano? Wright? Womack?

Seriously, if it's a lefty bat they're going after, the "disgraced" Rafael Palmiero would come cheap (spare me the rhetoric, Steve Howe & Darryl Strawberry were Yanks once)

Not sure who the Yanks would give up to trade for Hunter/Pierre. Not much to deal, and either team won't take on a player making $$

Yanks need to work on their bench, bullpen and CF

Some interesting ideas here, but I've still got a soft spot for Ramiro Mendoza. Though he's definitely seen better days, his AAA numbers in 2005 were pretty impressive. Besides, at worst he gets signed to another make-good minor league deal; he doesn't really deserve to be lumped in with "expensive players" who "have to go".

It's kind of odd (not to say laughable) that Matthews wants to keep Ruben Sierra:
"Reserve outfielders — Ruben Sierra (he's relatively cheap, experienced and a switch-hitter)"

I couldn't agree more with the sentiments stated above. Furthermore, it's obvious that reporters, who know very little about the subject matter they're covering, are writing only to stir up a greater sense of impatience among the fans. If we were to follow their suggestions, can you imagine how disappointed we'd all be when a team with Thome and Bengie Molina and BJ Ryan would crap out of the playoffs again? They're playing with our minds, people!

Anyway, there is absolutely no reason to pursue Thome. He's no defensive stalwart, not with his bad back. Giambi is just fine at first, even if he can't throw worth a damn. Olerud is a fine replacement, so is Mientkiewicz. Whatever we do, Thome is totally unneccesary and overkill.

Can we drop this crap about Bengie Molina or Ramon Hernandez already? Do we really need to be the $250M team? Can't we live with Jorge this year and find a young kid for the future? The Braves traded Kevin Millwood for Jhonny Estrada 3 years ago and it worked out fine. I refuse to believe that we need to invest the kind of money it will take to get either Hernandez or Molina. Flat out they're not worth the money and not significantly better than what we have right now. Look at the stats -- Molina's 31 years old and hit 15 homers with a .336 OBP. Posada hit 19 homers with a .352 OBP at the age of 34. Tell me why Molina should be so coveted? Ramon Hernandez hit 12 homers with a .322 OBP and turned 30 this year. Again, neither is worth it. Not for what it'll cost us.

Yankee fans -- STOP TRYING TO BUY THE WORLD. We're better off if we chill on the blowing money thing. It isn't working.

Agree with MJ re: Posada. His VORP was #2 among AL catchers.

I admit I salivate to see more serious lefty power in the Bronx.

PS: B.J. (And the Bear) Ryan can't be allowed to go anywhere else in the division.

I also saw other rumors about us trading Sheffield for a package including Aaron Rowand. How on earth does that make sense?

Also, lets leave Torii Hunter and his career .321 OBP in Minnesota. He's a flashy fielder, no question, but that guy can't handle a stick to save his life (no, I'm not impressed with his 20 homer power). Frankly, for the money, Bubba Crosby's just fine in center. Collision or no collision, Crosby can be a perfectly decent CF for us without blowing $10M on a guy like Hunter. For the $9M we save, we can throw all the cash in the world at BJ Ryan, Mike Timlin, Bob Howry, Julian Tavarez and any other guy to put in our bullpen.

In case anyone hasn't noticed, stocking up on hitters isn't the answer. If we don't bridge the gap from a starter to Mo, we're not winning bubkus.

Wow - that article said practically nothing. The mentioned changes to the current roster are already happening due to free agency and most of the transactions offered up make no sense at all.

Jorge is fading with the bat? This is news to him? Of course he's fading - he's a catcher after 30! He's still better than most and also going into the last guaranteed year of his contract so I don't think that it hurts the Yankees all that much right now.

The dumbest thing offered up has got to be Thome - I live outside of Philly and everyone used to think that this guy was god until last year. Now they think that he is done...and I tend to agree. He was AWFUL last year...and even WORSE away from the Homerdome, I mean Citizen's Bank park. Maybe he'll bounce back...but who wants to take a chance on a 35 year old who is still owed $43.5MM over the next three years? Well, outside of this writer...

Sheffield for a package including Aaron Rowand? Where do I sign?

In short, here (to me) is how you improve the hitting side of the roster, though its certainly a short-term solution:

Sign Piazza (for a very few mil) and Matt LeCroy (for even less). Posada catches 4 times a week, Piazza the other 2. LeCroy is around for emergencies, and to mash lefties as DH or 1B (or PH). He NEVER starts vs righties. EVER.

Piazza can DH many of the days he doesn't catch. Posada gets to DH if he wants, too.

As for late-inning defense at 1B - hello, Andy Phillips! He gets worked into the DH rotation, too, to stay fresh. Giambi obviously plays the field as much as possible (OPS goes up 140 points when he fields vs when he DHs).

Admittedly Piazza isn't young, but he can still mash - a Posada-Piazza tandem would probably be the best hitting catcher in MLB outside of Victor Martinez. LeCroy is 29 and Phillips is 29 - much better than Olerud (36) or Thome (35). And both are far cheaper!

You'd essentially replace Flaherty-Tino-Sierra with Piazza-Phillips-LeCroy. Sounds good to me!

I'd let Bubba play CF (defense) and find a cheaply-available Matt Stairs type - power and patience and can play the corner OF slots well enough - out there. Maybe the Pirates will part with Craig Wilson (who can also catch and play 1B, BTW). He's arb-eligible and could be had on the cheap, as Pittsburgh has many other (younger and cheaper) options for 1B/RF/LF.

I like the Piazza-Phillips-LeCroy idea. Haven't heard any mention on what to do about a utility infielder (not as important to address as some of the other holes, but still an bench spot nonetheless.) Do you keep Bellhorn around? What about Rey Sanchez, have his discs stopped bulging?

Steve - you're kidding, right? You'd actually trade Sheffield for a kid that can't hit? A package where Rowand will be the best thing you get back? I'm all for being creative but taking fifty cents on the dollar is ridiculous.

Thanks, Jen. I'm hoping Sanchez isn't coming back, so I guess I'd say keep Bellhorn. He does have that great-in-an-even-numbered-year thing going, so he might be very useful next year.