Powered by Love Train – The Sound of Philadelphia ^[1], here’s the news:

• Pete Abe will be doing a live video chat event at LoHud today at 1pm.  Click here ^[2] to access it.
• In case you have nothing to do for about three hours, you can read a 153-page PDF file ^[3] with all the e-mails that went back and forth between the City and the Yanks regarding the City’s use of a luxury box (big props to PeteAbe for the link).
• Doing the Arbitration Tango: At BP.com ^[4], Joe Sheehan takes the Yanks to task for not offering arbitration to Abreu and Pettitte:

… to decline the services of above-average players or draft picks in the event of their departure is a stunning waste of resources. Bobby Abreu projects as a five- or six-win player, Pettitte a bit below that … those wins are valuable because they could be the difference between making the postseason and missing it.

… two days ago, the Yankees had assets in Abreu and Pettitte that could have been considered short-term investments with minimal risk and fairly certain benefit (were they to rejoin the club), or long-term investments with more risk and uncertain benefit, but higher upside (were they to become draft picks). Now, they have nothing. How a team with the cash reserves of the Yankees can make a choice like that is inexplicable …

• Oh Atlanta!: Mark Feinsand of the News ^[5] reports that the Braves are readying a five-year offer to A.J. Burnett:

Burnett, considered the No.2 starter on the market, was expected to wait for Sabathia to make the first move. But with the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays all apparently hesitant to give Burnett a fifth year, the 31-year-old might jump at Atlanta’s offer before Sabathia makes his decision.

• Feinsand ^[6] also has a blog entry on why Sabathia isn’t a Yankee yet:

It’s very simple. Sabathia clearly doesn’t have the Yankees listed first on his list, preferring to pitch in the National League and/or in California. He’s waiting to see if the Angels, Dodgers or Giants will get involved before he does anything, but it doesn’t mean he’s decided he won’t wind up in pinstripes.

• Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s ^[7] Jayson Stark echoes the possibility of Sabathia ending up a Giant:

He loves the Bay Area in particular. He even loves the Warriors — enough that he showed up at a Warriors game in person this week.

And no matter how much the Giants might want to prioritize offense this winter, if the most alluring free agent in the solar system keeps suggesting he wants to play for your team if you can make it worth his while, how can you not think about it? So the Giants keep thinking. And the Giants keep talking. Talking to Sabathia’s agent, Greg Genske. And talking among themselves to determine whether this is a road worth seriously driving.

• Over at MLB.com ^[8], Lyle Spencer notes that Angels GM Tony Reagins still places Teixeira at the top of his shopping list:

Regains said “there was nothing to” reports that had the Angels moving past Teixeira and focusing on starter CC Sabathia, adding that the club has “no concerns” about Teixeira’s left knee, which was subjected to arthroscopic surgery in 2007. A published report indicated the Angels were too concerned with the knee long-term to go past six years for Teixeira, triggering a move toward Sabathia.

• Jeter second (base) to none?: Rob Neyer at ESPN.com ^[9] chimes in on Steven Goldman wondering whether Jeter could play second base at some point in the near future:

… which isn’t to suggest the Yankees should throw a billion dollars at Jeter next winter (or sooner). Because if they’re paying him a ton of money for five years, they’re going to feel like they have to play him regularly for five years, and in four or five years he will not be good enough to play every day. For the Yankees the money isn’t the issue; the issue is the games, the at-bats, the plate appearances. And as Goldman suggests, second base probably isn’t the answer. Even if he can actually play second base, whatever you gain in defense you’re likely to lose in positional scarcity.

• Andy come home!: Jack Curry of the Times ^[10] writes that Pettitte’s agents are still working with the Yankees on bringing Andy back for ’09.  But they are far apart on dollars:

What Randy and Alan Hendricks, Pettitte’s agents, are trying to do is to make sure their client avoids a pay cut. Pettitte made $16 million last season, one of the highest salaries in the major leagues for a pitcher, and his agents have stressed that he wants the same salary. The Yankees have offered Pettitte $10 million, and they seemingly have no immediate plans to improve their offer.

“We’d like to have him back,” General Manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday. “It’s come to the arena of trying to achieve common ground on money, which is easier said than done.”

• Cone for the Hall?: Back at BP.com ^[11], John Perrotto offers us a sneak peak at his HOF ballot.  It includes a bit of a surprise … David Cone.  After pointing out that Coney’s 194 wins is a respectable total in this era of five-man rotations, he points out some other facts :

For a statistical point of view, ERA+ is a good way to measure the effectiveness of a modern-day pitcher, and Cone had a career 120 mark. He also finished in the top three in ERA in his league seven times. Throw in the fact that he pitched in eight postseasons, and he’s a Hall of Famer. At least in my book.

• MLB.com ^[12] has a nice article on the Yanks’ Ray Negron, and how his children’s books are being turned in a film.
• Happy 33rd birthday to Ed Yarnall, who was part of a package received by the Yanks when they traded a then-unknown named Mike Lowell to the Marlins.  Stan Jefferson (he of the 12 ABs for the team in 1989) turns 46.  Pat Sheridan, who finished out his career with one season as a Yankee in 1991, turns 51.  Also turning 51 is Lee Smith, whose Yankee career consisted of eight innings in 1993.  The immortal Tucker Ashford, part of one of the few Yankee/Met trades in history, turns 54.
• On this date in 1968, the Dodgers trade P Mike Kekich to the Yankees for OF Andy Kosco.
• On this date in 1969, the Yanks send veteran P Al Downing and C Frank Fernandez to Oakland for 1B Danny Cater and C Ossie Chavarria. They also trade 1B Joe Pepitone to the Astros for 1B Curt Blefary.
• On this date in 1992, free agent SS Spike Owen is signed to a 3-year contract.