The Yankees also have a few other free agents that need to be addressed.

Eric Hinske: In 2007 he won a World Series, in 2008 he went to the World Series & in 2009 he won a World Series. Why not bring him back? He seems to be a good luck charm & he can hit. While he was upset with being on the bench in Pittsburgh while Double A players played over him he accepted being a role player in NY.

Jose Molina: With the development of Francisco Cervelli it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Molina may stay in NY but it could be as a member of the Mets. The Mets haven't had a decent catcher since Mike Piazza left so I could see them signing both Jose & Bengie Molina to solve this issue in the offseason. While Molina has a great arm & is a good "game manager" his hitting may be the deciding factor in the battle between himself & Cervelli, who may be groomed as Posada's air apparent, if it isn't Jesus Montero.

Xavier Nady: If he actually plays more than 7 games, he could be a valuable member of this team whether it be as a role player or a starter five days a week.

Other things to ponder:

Is Wang going to be brought back for 2010?

Do Mitre & Gaudin make the team out of spring training next year?

Why do people keep reporting the Yankees are going to sign John Lackey but then report the Yankees are looking to cut payroll?

So both Johnny Damon & Hideki Matsui are free agents. Who will be brought back? Who will leave?

Some have claimed Matsui may go back to Japan to end his career there now that he's won a World Series. Both Damon & Matsui are in their late 30's. In Football they'd be struggling to hang on to their careers, in baseball though they could probably play out another 5 or 6 years.

While I think Damon & Matsui still can hit at their advanced age they each offer their own drawbacks. Matsui can no longer play the outfield due to his creaky knees & there will be a logjam next year at DH for the Yankees due to aging veterans like Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, A-Rod and Damon (if he returns). Damon on the other hand has always had a terrible throwing arm, even with momentum. Damon's only advantage at this point over Matsui is his ability to run. Damon will make a few spectacular catches in the outfield but routine plays with him aren't so routine.

This offseason reporters are claiming Brian Cashman & the Steinbrenners are looking to lower the payroll, to below 200 million - WHOA!

A cheap & simple solution would be to bring up Shelley Duncan & Austin Jackson to replace two individuals who deserve new contracts but will command excessive dollars due to their World Series efforts. Shelley "Igor" Duncan proved in 2007 he is able to hit the long ball but struggled in 2008 and hasn't been seen much since. He is a prime replacement for Matsui considering they both are homerun hitters with average skills otherwise. Austin Jackson is quicker than Damon & a far superior outfielder. Paying Jackson & Duncan a combined 1 million for 2010 as opposed to 30 million for Damon & Matsui is a savings of 29 million dollars.

Under normal circumstances 29 million dollars is nothing to the Yankees but considering they pay Kei Igawa millions upon millions to pitch as effectively as I would, it should be a consideration.

The last time the Yankees infused young talent was 1995 & 1996 with Rivera, Pettitte, Jeter, Posada. Recently they've infused a few pitchers (Joba, Hughes) & relievers (Coke, Robertson, Aceves) but rarely have hitters been infused to the team. When the Yankees traded Soriano for A-Rod they gave Cano the shot at 2nd and things have worked out okay thus far. Now is as good a time as ever to infuse more young talent.

The time is now Mr. Ca$hman.