YASNY

Exactly. And that isn't even taking into account a disenfranchised Nomar or Manny.

One thing to keep in mind folks. Both Reinsdorf and Steinbrenner are in their 70's, so something will have to happen before too much time passes. I'd hope they retire and enjoy the fruits of their labors. SOON.

I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to EvilJester's reply to your post. I happen to agree with you, but I always listen to others perspectives.

Again. Maddux said that he would consider either Chicago team. Where do you people come up with this "insight" on what Greg Maddux is thinking?

Soxbadger, Regarding my comment about the possible drastic devaluation of the franchises: I know that odds would be against that happening over the long term, but it's still a gamble the owners would have to take. If you recall, the fans across the country sent a very strong message to both the owners and the players just prior to the last CBA deadline. So strong, that it turned what was an almost certain work stoppage into a deal being agreed upon. If baseball was shut down for a full year, and you even have to consider the possibility of two or more years, then the following question would hang very heavy over any individual player contract negotiations: "Will the fans come back?" The past 30 odd years of labor strife and work stoppages has soured a bunch of the paying customers. These customers are now starting to forgive baseball because the last possible strike was avoided. But, if another one occured and it turned out to be a long bitter negotion process, then the question in the above paragraph is one I don't think the owners would like the answer.

You're right. I remember seeing that once before as well.

If Steinbrenner does, in fact, want Greg Maddux, then the Cubs are not the favorites. If it's all rumor, or his baseball people have talked King George out of his interest in Maddux, then yes, I'd say he'll be on the scrubs.

Wow. That was a very classy thing for Dan Evans to do. Most GM's wouldn't even acknowledge these message boards exist.

Whether or not the loss of those 6 free agents will hurt the team is a moot point as far as I'm concerned, in relation to this article. Rosenthal is right on the money as far as Reinsdorf's image and the perception the fans have of him. Twenty plus years of his "marketing genious" and utter failure at producing a championship has left Sox fans fed up, to put it politely.

If Urbina sits out this season then he is a world class FOOL. Is he going to make twice as much next year to make up for the lost income from this year? No. He'll make even less, because his value will have gone DOWN after sitting out a year. :headshake

Funniest post of the entire thread!

After reading this very interesting and enlightening thread I will say this. I'd gladly take a roster of 32 to 36 year old allstar calibre players over a roster full of young question marks and never-will-be's. And considering the fact that if any of these players the Yanks have does prove to be unproductive, then King George will go out and buy another 30something all star to replace them. Are the Yankees older than the average age of the rest of baseball. Almost certainly. Does if make any difference what so ever? No.

I'm a big Valentin fan, but I gotta say, this is a bit of a stretch.

Have you ever heard of a three way deal? If King George wants Buehrle bad enough, it will get done some way or another.

Why do people keep saying this? I specifically remember Maddux saying he'd consider playing for EITHER Chicago team. One of which is in the AL, if I remember correctly.

Ya, I threw that possibily (Durham) out there a couple of days ago in another thread. That just seemed to make sense when I thought of it.

That's true. The playoff system does give the little guy at least some amount of hope. If this were the old, pre-expansion days, the Yankees would just be able to grind it out and finish the season with a 10 game lead.

Ok, Thanks for the info.

The owners do not want a strike/lockout because of one very simple fact. That will negatively affect the value of each and every franchise. Perhaps even drastically.

The ramifications of this deal are huge, bordering on tremendous. First of all, you have the Yankees sticking to the Red Sox, again. And making the BoSox look comparatively "cheap" in the process. Boston worked for weeks to get an ARod deal done, but backed out because of the money issue. Then the Yankees come in after the Boone injury and get this deal done in 2 or 3 days. Next, you have to consider the fact that the Mets wouldn't sign ARod when he was a free agent even though he wanted to go there. They also, backed off because of the money. So, what Steinbrenner has effectively done is put the screws to his biggest competitive rival in Boston and also his biggest marketing rival in the Mets. That sums up the situation on the New York - Boston corridor and King George comes up a HUGE winner. But what does this do to the rest of MLB? It has driven home the fact that the competitive balance issue that was supposed to be, if not resolved, then at least improved by the last collective bargaining agreement, was only tweaked, at best. And it was driven home with a sledge hammer like impact. Fans throughout the baseball world have been well aware that they have their backs against a wall and are hoping for something almost miraculous to occur in order for their teams to win. But now, the acquisition of ARod borders on obscene in that respect. If your a Red Sox fan, you have to feel like you just got a swift kick in testitcles. If you are a fan of the O's, Jays or Rays you just have to me sick to your stomach. As for the rest of the baseball fans, feelings would have to range from disgust to exasperation. This deal in NOT good for baseball in any way, shape or form.

Is that a Fisk baseball card in your sig? If it is, it's one of the very few I don't have. What are the details on it? Card company, year, number, etc.

This one will get done. The curse of the Bambino strikes again.

This article addresses questions that have been discussed for months around here. They didn't have the answers either. We'll start getting answers to within the next couple of weeks. Like, Is Koch's velocity back? Others won't be answered till the regular season.

This is not quite a sure thing yet. From ESPN:

But you have to remember, they'll get someone decent for Clement. His value is probably as high right now as it's ever been.