I agree. I was just thinking as Granderson signed with the Mets that the deal didn't work out exactly as the Yankees planned. He hit a lot of homeruns but I think they expected more from Granderson both offensively and defensively. I think they should have held onto Jackson myself too. I remember he was untouchable just like Montero and then all of a sudden, he's now gone. Not to mention he's a speedy outfielder but he could have also been our lead off hitter all of this time. Sure he had a problem striking out his first 2 years but those numbers have gone down. Currently he's a .278 hitter but doesn't appear to steal a lot of bases.

And I agree, Banuelos is the last hope for a Yankees pitcher for a while except for Pineda (got my fingers crossed on him but really what can we expect from him after shoulder surgery). Shoulders are so unpredictable unfortunately.

Wow, we were just talking about this. I'd take this trade right now because Jackson is under team control for another 2 years while Gardner's a free agent after next season:

Jackson for Gardner

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/240-million-dead-beat-cano-striking-dad-article-1.1546458

I know there are two sides to every story, but Cano needs to increase his child support payments- he can afford more than $600-$1200/month. How about Cano trying to lock in a ten year contract, shortly before he became a free agent...

"Castro confirmed an ESPN report earlier this year which said that a Cano representative approached her in February with a 10-year contract to sign. The contract dealt with visitation rights and indicated she would be paid about 150,000 Dominican pesos, or between $500 and $600"

This could start to get ugly. Look, I LOVE the Yankees. It's no secret here. And I even like Randy Levine but sometimes he just needs to let things go. Stories like this, for me as a fan, are embarrassing. It's not the Yankee way. Take the high road and let it go. What good does it do to get into it with the media with A-Rod or Robinson Cano? I can understand how Cano could feel disrespected. He signed with Seattle. Move on. And no, I won't boo him when he comes back. I still like Robbie, I've got nothing against him. As Pete Rose said, Jay-Z got him a 10-year contract worth $240 million and 30 extra days of vacation in October!

Yanks 'feel bad' for Robinson Cano

Hmmm.....I think I disagree with you here. Although I understand your point, Levine was asked to respond to the comments made by Cano. Cano, imo, should take the high road and possibly get a new PR team. Honestly, I pretty much agreed with Levine....including that Cano probably wished he was still a Yankee. Even if the Yanks offered him an 8 year deal, he still would have said no, so he should just enjoy his new deal and new team.

Ellsbury, was offered $80 million by the Sox- he has a bigger gripe. And he has had nothing but kind words for Boston. Who knows, maybe that is the difference between the preparation that Boras and Jay Z have for their clients before being introduced to their new teams?

Roy Halladay took out a full page ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer, expressing appreciation to the Phillie fans for his three seasons here. That was a classy gesture. Victorino did the same when he was traded.

yankees picked up brian roberts, guess that answers the 2nd baseman question.

Not a bad pickup if he can remain healthy. I'd still like to see them pick up Mark Reynolds on a similar contract. I like his bat.

My jury is out on the acquisition- he could be the weakest starter going into ST that I can recall. Based on his numbers (especially OPS+), he seems spent as a player. And his good seasons were likely due to PEDs.

But his inability to stay on the field....wow, this guy is a walking MASH unit. Herniated disc, ruptured knee tendon, hip surgery, etc... he even gave himself a concussion by purposely hitting himself on the head with a baseball bat. So, in addition to being injury prone, he may not be that bright!

DEFINITELY glad Choo turned down this offer. Nothing against Choo but he is NOT worth 7-years at $140 million IMO. Yankees dodged a bullet with that one.

Choo Turned Down Seven-Year Offer From Yankees

Choo will be the highest paid platoon player in baseball.

Exactly. And as I've stated, I think they overpaid a little for Ellsbury. But that contract for Choo would have just been insane. I wonder if Boris is kicking himself now?

Rumors are they're going to introduce Carlos Beltran on Friday.

Pitching? Where's the pitching? Year after year,they acquire these high paid, allegedly productive offensive players and they turn out to be OFFENSIVE.

The Yanks are waiting for Tanaka to be posted. They are considered to be frontrunners for him. Last year at age 24, he went 24-0 in Japan.

Yankees front office has stated that they are not interested in paying the inflated prices for the available FA pitchers on the market- Garza, Jiminez, E. Santana.

I agree with Cashman. This year's free agent pitching crop is weak as will next year's (save for Max Scherzer who's going to command crazy money). I'd wait on Tanaka as well. The only guy I'd look at right now is Matt Garza who's pitched in the AL before but his numbers last year with Texas left something to be desired.

I can't say I'm surprised. After the new posting system was agreed upon, I didn't think he'd post this year. Kinda disappointed.

Source: Yanks set to move on sans Tanaka

From what I've heard, there isn't a final decision on whether or not Tanaka will be posted.

I hold the minority opinion, but I'd prefer Tanaka to be held until next season. Then, have the Yanks find a way to stay under $189 (with the help of ARod's suspension). In this case, after 2014, Tanaka will be a free agent and the Yanks will be open their wallets again.

I agree. They should get under in 2013 since their rotation is kinda dicey in the #4 and #5 spots. Get under the cap in 2013 and open up in 2014!

Masahiro Tanaka.....clubs have until January 24th to come to an agreement. Predictions?

Striking out 6 in two innings in the WBC.

The rumor as of now are the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels are the 3 finalist.

What about the Cubs?

I guess the Yanks can get under $189 million without Tanaka, or blow by it with him.

Cubs are in it but again, from the rumors those are the 3 finalists.

I can't believe nobody's posted this yet but the Yankees just signed Masahiro Tanaka! You can't deny they had the best offseason with adding McCann, Ellsbury, Beltran and now Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka to Yanks for $155M

HUGE signing!

The Yanks have gone from a really iffy rotation to one which will allow them to compete for a division title. I cannot imagine giving all that money for a guy with a projected ceiling of a #2, but that's what the open market brought.

I'm looking forward to watching him pitch. He's got a filthy splitter and fork ball. Fastball is a bit flat, though, but he has outstanding command.

For the generation of yankee fans too young to remember the glory of Hideki Irabu, they're bringing in Tanaka.

There was actually more hype in '96 when Irabu was signed.

What cracks me up is all of these so called "experts" who are now saying that the Yankees still aren't a playoff team? Are you kidding me? Are these the same idiots who predicted the Blue Jays were gonna win the World Series last year (even when I knew and predicted that they wouldn't even make the playoffs)?

The Yankees were in contention for playoff spot until the last few games of the regular season. And that's WITH injuries to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texieira and Curtis Granderson amongst others. And that's WITH CC Sabathia having the worst year of his career, Ivan Nova having an inconsistent first half, Kuroda stumbling towards the finish line at the end of the season and Phil Hughes with his 5.19 ERA. Now you upgrade your catcher with McCann, upgrade your outfield with Ellsbury and Beltran and upgrade your rotation with Tanaka. Sure, they lost Cano and that's going to hurt them, but I think their 4 signings above help them more than the lose of Cano.

Also, I'm not putting too much pressure on Tanaka this year. I'd expect him to win between 10-15 games with an era in the high 3's/low 4's. Let him get a season under his belt and then judge him accordingly.

World Series: Bucs v. Yankees in a repeat of the '60 WS. Bucs win!

I'm not sold on Pittsburgh yet. I'm predicting they miss the playoffs like the Orioles did this past year after their incredible 2012 campaign.

I can't believe AJ turned into a pitching monster for Pittsburgh.

Yanks have major questions at 3rd and 2nd, with no depth at 1st and SS. But at least they have a rotation, on paper, that is respectable.

Vegas has the Yanks as the second favorite in the AL to win the WS....tied with Boston and behind Detroit. Bovada also has the Yanks right behind Detroit in the AL.

I remember watching his first game - High and tight; the guy was fantastic. All went downhill from there until George called him a Pussy Toad. Tanaka doesn't look like a toad.