If you're a baseball fan, you're bored. You're probably checking MLBtraderumors.com every day, or you may have even resorted to playing The Bigs on your Nintendo Wii. And you're probably sick of seeing headlines like "Yankees may possibly consider increasing their offer to C.C. Sabathia, hypothetically," and "Stop the Presses! Ian Kennedy throws 9 innings in the Hawaiian Winter League."
Me too. This Hot Stove has been so boring, especially for Yankees fans, because the Yanks seem to only be interested in Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. This is a team that needs a lot of work, and there are a ton of valuable options that are going unmentioned. Here are some other free agents that General Manager Brian Cashman must sign, and fast.
Ben Sheets, RHP, 30 years old
There've been a few whispers that Cashman is considering A.J. Burnett, but there's almost zero rumored interest in Ben Sheets. New York is heading into 2009 with only two guaranteed starters, Chien Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. Mike Mussina has unfortunately retired, and Andy Pettitte might elope with Joe Torre in Los Angeles. You can never have enough pitching, and the Yankees have a dire need.
While C.C. Sabathia gets treated like the second coming, Sheets is hardly getting noticed. But why? The hard-throwing righty has a better career WHIP (1.20) than C.C. and continues to mature as a pitcher. I'm not advocating getting Sheets instead of C.C. - both would be nice - but I don't know how Cashman can see Sheets' 2008 ERA of 3.09 and not put an offer on the table.
Raul Ibanez, LF, 36 years old
I'm sure Johnny Damon is a nice guy. Really. But the guy cannot play the outfield. It's shocking to see a man with his speed watch so many balls drop at his feet. And it's hard not to laugh when he tries to throw out a runner.
Johnny Damon should be the Yankees' DH, and Raul Ibanez should man left field. The New York City native would bring a superior arm and range to left field, plus some much-needed pop and consistency at the plate. Ibanez has hit over .280 for the past eight years and has five 20-home run seasons. The 2008 Yankees scored almost 200 fewer runs than the 2007 squad - blame Darrel Rasner all you want, but the Bombers failed because they didn't bomb. Raul Ibanez is part of the solution.
Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, RHP, age unknown
Why not? The Bronx misses that leg kick. Career ERA of 4.13. I bet he can still pitch.
Mark Prior, RHP, 28 years old
Drafted by the Yanks in 1998, and a serious Cy Young Award contender in Chicago. Due to injuries, he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2006, so I bet it would take peanuts to sign him to a contract. No risk, high reward.
The Yankees need C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira if they want to compete in 2009. But as they say, it takes more than two to tango. Or something like that.
Ellis Rochelson '09 wants Joba and C.C. to wrestle.
