Also, I do think the Yankees seem like they are signaling to Jeter and Mariano that the well of money is not limitless. Capping “ability to pay” is a negotiation 101 strategy and the best way to show the cap is authentic is to have a painful cap experience before the negotiation starts – to show it’s real. Bypassing Holliday (who would great improve the team) would be exactly that kind of signal.

I wish we had just gotten Holliday instead of NJ.
I do think payroll considerations over the next 5 years is very important…. but not so in any ONE specific year.

I can’t afford to borrow $10k.
Although, if I had a guaranteed EXTRA $10k coming in 12 months,
I would feel differently.
If Cashman plans of going with an economical LFer over the next 5 years, so be it. But IF he wants an impact LFer after this year…. then what’s the point in passing on Holliday?

What will Werth cost (if we get him) in 2011? $14m?
So, is $16m for Holliday (in then hand) in 2010
a better ‘fit’ then $14m for Werth (in the bush) in 2011?
Is saving X dollars in 2010 really that important if we plan on spending X dollars in 2011?

Of course, none of that covers Grandy’s defense nor the fact the Yanks saved about $10 million.

Holliday is a big mistake for the money. Let him continue to pad his stats in the NL.

I don’t see how the Sox have improved. The pitching isn’t scary and the offense – the reason they got swept out of the post-season – actually took a step backward. We’re lucky they went stupid with Cameron and Scutaro rather than smart with Figgins and Hardy.

I like the net cost analysis done on moving Melky and bringing in Holliday. It just seems to make too much sense not to do from a pure baseball perspective. What the accountants and money managers think I have no idea!

[84] Does it matter what he will make over the next 5 years? There is no guarantee that the Yankees will keep him, unless of course he does continue to improve, in which case $5mn would be a bargain.

[86] DeRosa is a pretty good hitter who gets on base and plays many positions. Nady is coming off major surgery and Brett Gardner can’t hit. I am not a big DeRosa fan, but he is better than those two.

‘I wanted it to happen. I have nothing but great things to say about the Yankees,’ Damon said. “If the Nick Johnson thing works out, it will be good for them. It’s part of baseball.”

Does JD have Boris’s telephone number?
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/yankees/2009/12/say-goodbye-to-johnny-say-hell.html#ixzz0a3gPRaTA

As for your second point, I didn’t say the Sox haven’t improved…I just don’t think they have significantly closed the gap, mostly because I think the gap is starting off pretty big.

As for the Phillies, who cares what they do…the Yankees only have to deal with them in the World Series. Also, Halladay is great, but how much better can he be for the Phillies than Lee was in the post season?

I NEED A VOTE... confirmation.... feedback.
On the DH issue:
Jorge himself, on RADIO, said he KNOWS he can only Catch "110 to 115 games". And my guess is rough, tough, proud Jorge is not underestimating this. SO......

DH Jorge: 40 games.
NL games: 10 Games
ARod/Jeter: 15 games.
I won't include Tex, as when he DH'es, Nick could play first.

That's 40% of the DH ABs spoken for. Is this a reasonable assessment? Just saying' that if Miggy Cairo is our DH, he only plays in 100 games.

Also, I agree the fact that NJ 'plays a position' has minimal value, as he is blocked by Teix. But it does have some value. If NJ can play 1B 20-25 games, against flyball pitchers and/or LHP, and Teix can DH those games. it is measurable rest of Teix, especially if he has some 'minor bumps and bruises' at those times.

Many guys play the field155+ games. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't be a bit fresher and a bit better (think Jeter) if 20 of those games were at DH.

I don’t mean to speak for William, but can we really say what the RS have “added” without considering what they will have (or may have) lost. Does adding 37 y.o. Cameron make up for losing Bay? And possibly losing Lowell? Do they have another blockbuster lined up? Otherwise, that ‘s a lot of missing O. And signing Marco Scutaro is not going to put lots of runs on the board.

Tell you what – gentleman’s wager: Matsui + Damon in 2010 OPS+ will be higher than CG + NJ OPS+ 2010. That takes any home field advantage out of the equation (though I disagree with you about Matsui and YSIII).

Also, you seriously don’t think the RS or Phillies closed the gap in this off season so far?!? Seriously? That is a notion I find completely preposterous.

Even if you allow (which I will not outside this point) that CG + NJ will be better than Matsui + JD, do you seriously think they will produce an increase in overall production greater at the margin than what the RS added in Lackey and Cameron?

[77] I have no faith that Johnson will stay healthy. I would have loved to have him be the new Yankee 1B when he came up, but the injuries and his lack of ability to play anywhere other than first, where the Yankees already have an MVP candidate, makes me wondering about this decision.

I don’t hate it, just puzzled that wasn’t there someone else on the market the Yankees could use. Or an outfield with Melky, Curtis, Swisher, and Gardner, have one of the first three DH a bit. Or even Nady.

[79] Yankees had a revolving LF in 1998. Didn’t turn out so bad then. So I agree.

If Nick plays a full year with the Yanks and posts his career .371 wOBA, he is probably worth $10m next year, If nothing else, as a contract year, he should be very motivated.

FWIW, FanGraphs vaued him at $10.9m last year, and projects his 2010 value at $15m. (Granted, this is as a 1Bman, not DH). FanGraphs vaued Matsui at $11.0m last year, and projects his 2010 value at $8.6m.

And someone asked how much is better fielding worth? Well (again, FWIW), because of his poor fielding, for his career, Fangraphs valued Matsui at $47.8m, while over that time he was paid $73.0m.