It's an interesting story. I'm still not sure that its the best fit for the /Yankees/, though from NY's perspective, it certainly makes sense to eliminate any possibility of him playing home games in Fenway.

Still- now the Yankees have a defensively poor SS, a 3B playing out of his natural position, and have traded their starting 2b. Where'd the infield defense go?

Forget the bats... I think NY needs to look at who is going to be able to pick up some ground-outs...

...Oh yeah... insert some sour grapes HERE about A-Rod not playing in LA.

You should write Press Releases for the team.

Hopefully his contributions (offensive and otherwise) can mean something now.

Wow. What a line-up... offensively.. wow. I do agree though that the defense could use a little tweaking to perform at it's best, and I'm sure The Boss knows this just like everyone else.

What about Jeter sliding oer to 2nd, A-Rod taking his natural SS and going after a free-agent 3B?

Of course, if the Yanks had managed to get Lowell or Castillo away from the Fish, the point would be moot... thank God my team is finally spending a little money..

Either way, the Yanks are one more solid starting pitcher away from their 27th World Championship (but who's counting) and as much as it pains me to say it, they are once again the team to beat in all of MLB, not just the AL.

Then again..... who knows... noone really thought the Marlins would take it away in the Bronx this past year either...

I think I'm gonna be sick.

All I can say is "Shit!". Between this and the Twins' biggest acquisition only being Jose Offerman, this is the worst offseason in a long time. I weep for anyone who is not a Yankees fan.

I'm with Ken Goldstein......The season hasn't even gotten under way and my hatred for the Yankees is already afire.

In some strange way, I believe that Sir George is good for baseball - but the manner by which he buys championships bothers me (and everyone else from a small market city).

Johnny - switching from SS to 2B is probably the hardest infield transition that a player can make. A-Rod has some experience playing 3B, and a little spring training is all he'll need to make the move.

There will not be a problem defensively either. The outfield looks stronger, and the in-field will now have another top player (Boone was just OK). I think people are making more out of the negatives just for the hell of it. This is huge news, and the Yanks have nothing to second guess at this point.

So does Joe Torre get fired if the Yanks lose 3 in a row?

But nothing to say on Van Horne and Nazr?????

Nah, he doesn't get fired. He retires before it happens.

Cory-
No. I don't think that 'people are making more out of the negatives just for the hell of it.' I think that if you look at the players on that infield from the hot corner to 2b, compared with the good or average defensive players at thier positions, you'll see what 'people' are saying.

For example, a very nice site is Baseball Primer. There is an article there titled "Defensive Regression Analysis." Its a rough read if you're not a math geek, but it's worth checking out the conclusions.(http://baseball-primer.com/articles/humphreys_2003-11-19_0.shtml)

The section I noted has the regression data on shortstops. There, the final regression data supports the theory that A-Rod is an average defensive SS, whereas Jeter is truly horrific in the field, costing his team between 15 and 20 extra runs a year /more/ than the average SS. By comparison, the light-hitting defensive-mind SS Rey Sanchez represents the other end of the specturm, at +26 to +22, /saving/ that many more runs than A-Rod.

Do those stats suggest that A-Rod is, on the whole, less valuable than Sanchez? Hell no. Doesn't account for offense at all. But it /does/ shed some light on the defensive liability that the Yankees will be putting in the field with Jeter at SS, A-Rod out of position at 3b, and Lord-Knows-Who-Now at 2b.

Actually, there's a question- Paul or anyone else know who's gonna be manning the center bag now?

Just a couple of days ago, no one knew who was gonna play third, and now they have a future Hall of Famer in his prime, whether it be Jeter or A-Rod, so who knows who will be at second.

I'm not concerned, though. I have 20 tickets to see four Yanks-Sox games at the Stadium this year, and I couldn't be more excited for them.

Jeffly - Damn, I thought that undergraduate business school was going to be the last time I used statistics. Nevertheless, I defer to your analysis. You're more on point than me and it sounds pretty accurate.

With all those defensive stats, though, I don't think any AL GMs are high-fiving over the thought of playing the Yanks, dribblers through the infield notwithstanding.

Blah, blah, blah, American League this and American League that.... Go Cubs!!

Not everyone in this "small market city" hates the Yanks. All I have to say is take that Boston.

Lemme guess, Jaccie. You're from Oakland or Seattle, right?

Peter Gammons has a great article on the trade, how the Yanks are great and the Bosox are still great how the last three champs were the D-Backs, Angels and Marlins, how the A's can still beat anyone in October with their pitching, and other issues that might affect the Yanks and Sox.

I can't wait for Opening Day.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1736367

James, I'm from neither Seattle or Oakland, but from Kansas City.

Oh, KC. Well, I'm actually a Twins fan, so I'm getting ready to see you guys run away with the Central, while we go back to our 1995 form. God, I hate Carl Pohlad.

Just heard the rumor on WGN that Greg Maddox, whom the Cubs have been courting to come back to Chicago, may now go to the Yankees. Evidently, Rodriguez and Maddox share the same agent, and a passing comment was made and well, you know how that story goes.

I was just getting ready to forgive Maddox for dumping us the last time...but this is surely going to piss me off irrevocably if he goes to the Yankees. Don't y'all have ENOUGH, DAMNIT?????

I have said this many different times, on a variety of issues on this forum.......but it stands to be said yet one more time....

This is what is wrong with baseball. Who thinks this is fun? Without a cap, or any form of concrete restraints to reign in owners like this, and conversely to force teams to spend a certain amount to make their teams competitive, baseball is going to remain a joke in the eyes of many. I don't blame Steinbrenner...in fact, I applaud him for doing this deal. I blame Bud Selig and the Players Association for not looking at the big picture.

Someone should pass David Stern's number on to Bud.....It would be the best phone call he ever made.