The Yankees are better off having not traded Phil Hughes for Santana...........Hughes will be a MONSTER. With the return of Andy Pettitte and Wang the Yanks are set to make a run against Boston. I hope that Walter enjoys that World Series win because he won't have it next year.............GO YANKS!!!!! M.

I actually respect the Yankees a bit more than I might have in the past for the small bits of restraint that they appear to be showing now and then. They've learned that throwing money around at every "flavor of the month" doesn't necessarily make for a winning team.

As for the Santana thing, it's been quiet, which leads me to believe that a team may have struck a deal with the Twins and the 72-hour contract extension period may be at hand. We'll see. If it is the Red Sox, I just hope that they don't give up too much for Santana. Besides, he's a lefty in a park that isn't always that lefty-friendly.

As for the World Series victories, both 2004 and 2007 have been a blast, with a great cast of characters and some real drama. I've enjoyed the hell out of them both. What have the Yanks done for their fans lately? (oh yeah...I forgot..."26 rings"...blah, blah, blah!)

Hey Walter: Call me when you get to double digits!

Oh Jimbo...you're such a stinker!

and how many world championships have the yankees won in the 21st century?

hank steinbrenner might just be the 21st century schizoid man!

renny

I love how they make fun of Hank on the WFAN Morning show with Boomer Esiason .

"The Twins better make a decision today...see". "We won't stand around waiting....see!"

A take-off of the great Edward G Robinson who also liked to talk like a tough guy.

btw...the Yankees have shown no restraint with $$$ this off-season. They've given A-Rod/ Posada/ and Mariano the most expensive contracts for their positions in the history of baseball.

In fact with A-Rod they claimed that they were done with him (see!). Then decided that without any other teams even involved in negotiations, they decided to give A-Rod exactly what he wanted....10 years...virtually $300M bucks because A-Rod realized the market for him at that price did not exist.
But luckily the Yankees love overpaying their stars.

And now if they get Santana, say goodbye to another $125M. Thats restraint?

Speaking of the state of baseball, this story broke today. I think it's a good idea.

Baseball writers vote to get out of the bonus business

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Baseball players no longer would receive bonuses for winning the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young or rookie awards bestowed by the Baseball Writers' Association of America under a rule passed Wednesday.

Starting in 2013, players with such bonus clauses in their contracts will be banned from receiving votes for any BBWAA awards. The lag time is designed to give agents and teams an opportunity to adapt to the ban; only a handful of players are already under contract for 2013.

Hall of Fame voting is not affected, nor are manager of the year or non-BBWAA awards such as the World Series MVP or Gold Glove.

"When we first started giving out these awards it was just to honor somebody. You got a trophy, there was no monetary reward that went with it," BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell said. "I honestly don't think people vote with that in mind. But the attachment of a bonus to these awards creates a perception that we're trying to make these guys rich."

The vote was 41-21 on the rule, which was brought up by The Associated Press two years ago. The BBWAA appointed a committee to discuss the rule with the commissioner's office and the players' association.

"We've been on record for the past 20 years as being opposed to bonus clauses related to these awards," O'Connell said. "The idea behind this was to toughen our stance against these clauses."

Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' association, declined to comment. Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Many veterans have award clauses in their contracts, some for honors bestowed by The Sporting News and Baseball America, others for postseason awards given by Major League Baseball, such as World Series MVP. Some are small -- at least relative to the multimillion dollar salaries -- but others are worth millions.