Not only are they worried about Scutaro, but they're also worried about the Sox landing Matt Holliday. The St. Louis Cardinals will most likely not try and resign him as Boras (grrrr.....) is shopping him at $23 million per year. Theo is holding his cards close to his vest on this one, as some are speculating that Holliday is the preferred left fielder over Jason Bay for the Sox.
For the Yankees, if the Sox were to land Holliday, in my opinion, I believe it would be a big blow. When you look at New York’s outfield, there isn’t exactly a “pillar” to build around. The Yankees don’t have that prominent outfielder in their farm system...
The Yankees have work to do if they think they're going to make it to the postseason in 2010. Their outfield is stable but not outstanding- Cabrera, Swisher, and Gardner as of right now. Boras will try for a Posada-like package of up to 4 years for Damon, but the Yanks will not offer a contract for that long to the 36 year old, weak armed outfielder. 38 year old Jorge Posada has played in exactly 162 games total in the past two years. His batting has dropped significantly since his career year in 2007, and the Yankees still have to drag him for 2 more years. As their roster stands right now, their catchers include Posada and Cervelli.
The starting pitching staff sports Sabathia and Burnett, but after those two there is much uncertainty. Will Pettite retire? Will Chamberlain turn into the ace that they expected? Will he bounce back and forth from starting rotation to bullpen and back? Pettitte and Chamberlain are proven starting pitchers, yet their numbers are not overpowering as Sabathia's were last year. Mo Rivera has been a top notch closer since 1997, but he just turned 40. One wonders how long he will continue performing at that level.
After splooging some umpteen bazillion dollars last year on Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira, and wanting to keep their payroll under $200 million for 2010, the Yankees will have trouble landing Halliday and/or Holliday, andthey will not want to give up Chamberlain and/or Hughes to get either of them.
While the Sox may still have some holes to plug (left field, bullpen), it looks like the Yankees have some gaping holes of their own to fill.
FenwayWest.com 12.06.09
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