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Good pitching will be more important to the Yankees than which batters "show up".

Good pitching will be just as important as good hitting. The Yanks need the pitching to stay in the game and to slow down Detroit's momentum but they'll need the hitting to win the game and to gather some confidence of their own.

And, quite frankly, neither Giambi nor ARod will be up to the task. Giambi's current excuse is that he's hurting and that's fine. But ARod just flat-out stinks when things matter most. Today will, hopefully, be his last game ever as a New York Yankee.

Okay, MJ. If today is ARod's last game as a Yankee who's going to play 3B next year? ARod has been terrible in the clutch this year, but, if you replace ARod with someone like Cairo, that means that the Yankees win 92 games instead of 97 this year.

I think the only big-name third baseman out there this off-season (if he doesn't return to the Cubs) is Aramis Ramirez. He had a huge season.

But I would want the Yankees to be more inventive than that. They need to find a lesser-known guy. Basically a Lyle Overbay who plays third. Not another superstar.

Giambi seems to be getting lumped in with A-Rod. Why? Giambi hit a home run in game one, and has at least been getting walks and getting on base in the last two games. Verlander was tough and Rogers is a lefty. A-Rod is supposed to kill guys like Rogers. And he did nothing. At least Giambi has contributed in some way.

At this point, is anyone convinced that bringing back Matsui and Sheffield is the reason the team is playing the way it is? I hate to blame those guys, but it seems like their reemergence sucked the life out of the team.

It seems like we played with the "Yankees of '06" team to wrap up the division early, but we're playing with the "post-season duds of '05" in the playoffs right now. I don't think reinserting Melky and Guiel NOW would help. I think the tone changed as soon as Sheffield started playing first base and Melky was put on the bench.

I suppose I'm nitpicking but I consider good pitching to mean not giving up a lead. If you don't give away the lead you can't lose the game.

It is very doubtful that Ramirez will be available, so that shouldn't be an option.

Baileywalk, a Lyle Overbay-type who plays 3B is not an acceptable answer. That sounds like Aaron Boone circa 2003. Maybe, you could give the name of a real player?

I'm tired of seeing Yankee fans calling for an ARod trade without having any conceivable plan for his replacement and any plan for how such a trade would work. ARod has a no-trade contract and the number of teams for which he would waive that AND who could afford him is very small. Baltimore would be a possibility, but you don't want to trade him within the division. And you'd have to take Tejada back and I certainly don't want Tejada. Perhaps, the Dodgers and Astros would be possible destinations, but I don't see any fit there either.

I thought of a realistic trade for the Trade ARod Chorus:
ARod + $$ to the Mariners for Adrian Beltre and Matt Lowe

When all of you ARod Bashers type in your hysterical pleas for an ARod trade, Adrian Beltre is what you should be thinking about. The Yankees aren't going to do any better than that for him.

It is very doubtful that Ramirez will be available, so that shouldn't be an option.
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Maybe you should try to back that up with some facts. Why is it doubtful? Because you say it is? The Cubs stink, and Ramirez specifically put a free-agent clause in his contract to coincide with the length of Dusty Baker's contract, and Dusty was let go. There's a good chance, having hit 38 home runs, that Ramirez will test the free-agent waters. He can make a fortune and he knows it.

While playing sparkling defense, Overbay quietly had a great year, hitting .302/.372/.508, with 46 doubles, 22 homers and 92 RBI. The Jays got Overbay for NOTHING. Cashman should have been all over that. When I say they need an Overbay TYPE, I mean they have to find a guy like him -- someone who doesn't get a lot of press or hit forty home runs a year, but is good with the glove and gives you a steady bat all year. I don't know who that guy is, but Cashman and his boys need to push apart the grass and find him. He's out there somewhere.

Plenty of teams can take on A-Rod's contract; the Rangers are paying six million of it a year. Your suggestion of Baltimore is an illogical one. Think Anaheim.

And please don't bring hysterical cries of "A-Rod bashing" into this conversation. We're simply speculating on rumors that abound right now.

Benching Melky and not keeping Guile on the roster were both huge mistakes, and, yes, I told you so. Matsui is a superior hitter, but Melky is a much better complement to this lineup, no question.

And, I realize how Michael Kay-ish this sounds, but with Sheff and Matsui, you really do get the feeling everyone's waiting around for a three run homer that never comes.

Benching Melky and not keeping Guile on the roster were both huge mistakes, and, yes, I told you so.
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Told who so? People have been saying that from the start.

Just an FYI for anyone looking to next year:

"Behind a complete game shutout by Daisuke Matsuzaka with 13 strikeouts and just six hits allowed, the Seibu Lions won Game 1 of the best of three first leg of the Pacific League playoffs, 1-0, against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at the Invoice Seibu Dome Saturday afternoon (Friday night for some of us)."

baileywalk,
It is very unlikely that Ramirez will be available because talks between Ramirez and the Cubs are going very well. Ramirez is waiting now just to see who the Cubs name as the new manager.

The relevance of Overbay to the Yankees off-season plans is baffling. Sure, the Yankees want to acquire players in a trade at a low cost. That's a banal truism. (Even then, your claims that the deal was a steal for the Jays is shaky. Overbay was the seventh best 1B in the AL and first basemen with mediocre power are a dime a dozen. The Blue Jays traded David Bush and Gabe Gross for him. Bush and Gross were valuable prospects last fall. The package that the Jays gave up would be equivalent to a current Yankee package of Clippard and Duncan.)

Third baseman who hit like Overbay are not a dime a dozen. If you advocate a trade, you have to offer a plan. Or is it the case that you are the proverbial Monday Morning Quarterback who criticizes Cashman only after a trade is made?

You are not "speculating on rumors that abound right now." There have been no substantial ARod trade rumors -- there has only been the irrational griping of Yankee fans.

Your one good point mentions Anaheim as a possible destination. Okay, so the Yankees trade ARod to the Angels for a package of, say, Erick Aybar and Scott Shields. That's the ticket, with players like Aybar and Shields we should have three more rings by the end of 2009.

A-Rod is supposed to kill guys like Rogers. And he did nothing.
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The whole lineup did nothing.

"It is very unlikely that Ramirez will be available because talks between Ramirez and the Cubs are going very well. Ramirez is waiting now just to see who the Cubs name as the new manager."

You're just repeating what I said. You're going to have to supply some backup for this assertion of "the talks are going very well." The fact that Ramirez is waiting for the new manager to be named shows the fact that he's not totally committed to coming back to Chicago. He's essentially saying that if he doesn't like the new choice, he's not coming back. Not to mention that he'll be a hot property on the free-agent market -- the Red Sox want him -- and I'm sure he wants to get paid even more than he's making now.

"The relevance of Overbay to the Yankees off-season plans is baffling. Sure, the Yankees want to acquire players in a trade at a low cost. That's a banal truism."

I was simply pointing out that Overbay is not a superstar, but he plays great defense and he hits well, and guys like this help you win. He'd be more valuable to the Yankees than another superstar. And when I say Cashman should have been all over this, I'm talking about last year, when we needed a first baseman just like him -- unless of course you'd rather have Andy Phillips.

"[Y]our claims that the deal was a steal for the Jays is shaky... first basemen with mediocre power... The Blue Jays traded David Bush and Gabe Gross for him... [they were] valuable prospects last fall. The package that the Jays gave up would be equivalent to a current Yankee package of Clippard and Duncan."

46 doubles and 22 home runs isn't "mediocre power" in my book. Just because he's a first baseman doesn't mean he has to hit 45 home runs to have "power." Gross and Bush had no value. The Brewers dumped Overbay to make room for Fielder. Brewer fans went nuts over this trade. Gross and Bush DO NOT equal Duncan (as he was thought of then) and Clippard (who is a top pitching prospect).

"Third baseman who hit like Overbay are not a dime a dozen. If you advocate a trade, you have to offer a plan. Or is it the case that you are the proverbial Monday Morning Quarterback who criticizes Cashman only after a trade is made?"

I SAID I don't know who this steady, non-superstar third baseman is. I was saying they need this TYPE of player. That last line, in this context, makes no sense. Aside from proving that you can't respond to someone questioning you without snide little comments that cover for facts and counterarguments.

"You are not 'speculating on rumors that abound right now.' There have been no substantial ARod trade rumors -- there has only been the irrational griping of Yankee fans."

Go look at a newspaper. Every newspaper in New York is talking about a potential A-Rod trade. And they have been for over a month.

"[S]o the Yankees trade ARod to the Angels for a package of, say, Erick Aybar and Scott Shields. That's the ticket, with players like Aybar and Shields we should have three more rings by the end of 2009."

The deal had Ervin Santana, Scot Shields and Chone Figgins. After seeing Johnson last night, wouldn't you have liked to have Santana on the team? The Yankees could do a lot with those three players. Including having the ability to make a nice trade.

Getting that type of package for A-Rod would in fact help this team win rings in the future.

Damon: We Need To Have More Life
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Maybe it was me, but it seemed that the Yanks were pretty loose in the dugout. I don't remember anyone looking PO'ed ot red-assed in the dugout.

I could be wrong, tho'

Okay, here's some backup:
News: Cubs GM Jim Hendry said he is optimistic about his chances of keeping potential free agent Aramis Ramirez.
Impact: Hendry said the team has already talked to Ramirez's agent and that Ramirez's preference is to stay. Ramirez can trigger a free agent clause, but the Cubs would like to move quickly to "make some adjustments to the contract" which assumedly would placate Ramirez, Hendry said. If Ramirez hits the open market, there are teams that will be lining up to lure him away from Wrigley. (Tue. Oct 3, 2006)

Ramirez is all ready slated to make $33.5 million dollars over the next three years. As a free agent, he would get an Adrian Beltre type contract (5 yrs at $65 million). That is more money, but not that much more money. Making that money would make Ramirez a "superstar" not the "star" that you so covet.

David Bush is all ready a league average starter and Gabe Gross had a good season as a fourth OF. That's not a bad take for a middle-of-the-pack 1B who was due for a pay raise.

You say ARod trade rumors are all over the papers. I read all three NY sports pages every day and have seen nothing that is actually a report of a real offer being made. All we have seen is writers filling column inches by spinning proposals out of their heads. Those are not REAL rumors. Or are your reading skills so poor that you can't see that?

Where did you see that about the Angels offering Figgins, Santana, and Shields for ARod? What's your source (or did you just make it up)? I would make that deal. There's no way that the Angels take up ARod's salary and give up those players in a deal.

Despite all of your talk, you refuse to come up with your own idea for a trade. The fact that you refuse to do so only illustrates to me your own ignorance of the current state of the game.