Forget about Matsui, and Cameron too

After watching the Red Sox pick up John Lackey yesterday, Yankees fans might be thinking it’s time to bolster the offense. Well, with Hideki Matsui agreeing to sign with the Angels and Mike Cameron agreeing with the Red Sox, there goes two players the Yankees may have been thinking about picking up.

Like my post on Roy Halladay and John Lackey, I’ll break down the deals from the Yankees POV.

Matsui deal:
Sayonara! The reigning World Series MVP is on his way to the west coast. Matsui served seven seasons with the Yankees — two of which shortened considerably due to injury — but most of the time was a consistent bat in the middle of a high-powered lineup.

I knew he was a goner, but now that he is gone, I miss him. He was always great against the Sox and he carried the team during his hot streaks. The fact is, his knees have been wearing down to the point where he can’t even play the field anymore. He clogs the DH spot

He’ll get $6.5 million to play one year with the Angels and will replace Vladimir Guerrero as their old, injury-prone DH. I wish him the best of luck out there, just as long as he doesn’t kill the Yankees next year. Oh, and he will definitely receive a HUGE standing ovation when he is first expected back in the Bronx on April 13.

Cameron deal:
It pretty much puts the Red Sox out of the hunt for Matt Holliday and Jason Bay (thank god). Now they’ll have Cameron in left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center and J.D. Drew in right. If the Yankees sign Holliday, Bay or Johnny Damon, I say the Yankees easily have the better outfield.

The Yankees have coveted Cameron for I don’t even know how long, and I’ve never really understood it. Yes, he’s got great D, but I wouldn’t spend $15.5 million over two years for a career .250 hitter at 37 years old. I’d much rather have a developing Melky Cabrera and Damon as part-time LF/DH.

Mixed reactions on Red Sox rotation (With Sheets update)

I asked my twitter followers if they were worried about a Red Sox rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey, and I surprisingly heard two sides to what I thought was a one-sided point.

MattLorenzo – Its the best in baseball.

5States – I think they’ll be pretty good, but I can’t say I’m super worried or scared.

yankee32879 – uhmm no.

ryan_kantor - Lackey is 31 and has declined over hte past 3 years. Cameron is a huge downgrade from Bay. We still need a SP & a RP though.

Legendary23 - NO. absolutely NOT. we hit beckett 287..Lester...287..and Lackey 277....so no ...not worried at all

I thought for sure more people would have agreed with MattLorenzo. None of them are coming off particularly great years, but they all can pitch.

So maybe the Yankees don’t need to upgrade their rotation?

Well, this just in from Ken_Rosenthal’s twitter feed.

Source: #Yankees "very interested" in Sheets, but believe he is in no rush to sign.

Now that Lackey and Halladay are gone…

I missed a huge day on the blog yesterday. Some updates: John Lackey agreed to a deal with the Red Sox. The other top pitcher on the market, Roy Halladay, was dealt to the Phillies in a three-team, blockbuster deal.

That’s a lot for one day, but I’ll break it down from the Yankees POV.

Lackey deal:
I’m starting with Lackey because he’s the newest member of the AL East. He is by no means a Yankee killer. In 16 career starts, he is 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA. The Red Sox were probably attracted to his postseason success, 3-4, 3.12 ERA. Props to them, they landed the best free agent starting pitcher available.

The deal is reportedly around five-years and $82.5 million — exactly what we all expected. Did the Red Sox overpay? He’s 31 years old, he hasn’t pitched over 200 innings since 2007 and his combined record over the past two seasons is 23-13 with a 3.78 ERA. If you compare him to Burnett, they’re both pretty close if you factor in injury risk, age and stats.

This gives the Red Sox a 1-2-3 of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Lackey. Not only is that a lot of ‘J’s, but it’s a lot of talent. That probably edges the Yankees for the best rotation in the league.

Halladay deal:
There are still some kinks to be worked out in this, but a deal that would send Halladay the Phillies, Cliff Lee to the Mariners and a boatload of prospects to the Blue Jays has been agreed upon, reports Buster Olney.

Bottom line, the Yankees and the rest of the AL East don’t have to deal with Halladay anymore (except in a World Series rematch). Yes, the Yankees missed out, but I think the Blue Jays were asking too much from the Yanks. I don’t think they were ever in serious discussion either.

Without the details it’s tough to tell, but I think the Mariners are winners of the trade. Pairing King Felix Hernandez with Cliff Lee poses a serious threat on the Angels, while the Phillies get older with Halladay and have to re-sign him to a reported three-year, $60 million deal.

Should you be freaking out the Yankees haven’t done anything yet? As Ron Popeil used to say, “Just wait, there’s more!”

Wang Featured Yankee Card of the Week

Since Chien-Ming Wang is no longer in pinstripes, I felt it was time to put up this card of him. Thanks for your two years of awesomeness.

Note: The card notifies us he was the team-leader in wins in 2006. Thanks for rubbing it in, Topps.

You call yourself a Yankees fan? Answer me this…

I was just checking out Rob Neyer’s top 100 players of “the 0’s” and I stumbled upon an awesome Yankees trivia question. By the way, Neyer ranks Alex Rodriguez second (behind Pujols) and Derek Jeter fourth (behind Bonds).

So here it is: What two pitchers of the 0’s struck out over 2,000 batters?

Hint: Both pitched for the Yankees at some point in the decade.

I’ll reveal the answer in this post at 1 p.m. tomorrow, sharp. Post your answers in the comments. The answer can be found in the details of Neyer’s post if you just can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.

And no, Roger Clemens did not strike out 2,000 in the 0’s.