The LoHud Yankees Blog

Tuesday, Nov. 9
AL Gold Glove Awards

Wednesday, Nov. 10
NL Gold Glove Awards
Silver Slugger Awards

Monday, Nov. 15
AL and NL Rookie of the Year

Tuesday, Nov. 16
NL Cy Young

Wednesday, Nov. 17
AL and NL Manager of the Year

Thursday, Nov. 18
AL Cy Young

Monday, Nov. 22
NL Most Valuable Player

Tuesday, Nov. 23
AL Most Valuable Player

Other dates to remember

Nov. 16-17
General Managers Meetings
Orlando, Fla.
In the past, the GM Meetings have been light on news and heavy on weak speculation, but this year teams can actually sign free agents at this point, so some actual news might come out of Orlando.

Nov. 17-18
Owners Meetings
Orlando, Fla.

Nov. 23
Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to free agents in order to get draft-pick compensation.
Probably has no impact on the Yankees.

Nov. 30
Last day for free agents to accept arbitration offers.

Dec. 2
Last day for teams to tender 2011 contracts to players under reserve.
I would guess that Sergio Mitre is the Yankees top non-tender candidate, largely because they can get the same swing-man role out of Dustin Moseley for less money. Then again, Moseley could be non-tendered as well.

Dec. 6-9
Winter Meetings
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
No team made more noise at last year’s Winter Meetings than the Yankees: They traded away Brian Bruney, traded for Curtis Granderson, re-signed Andy Pettitte and got the rights to Jamie Hoffmann in the Rule 5.

Associated Press photos of Robinson Cano and Brian Cashman

After losing him to the Yankees in last year’s Rule 5 draft, the Dodgers have added outfielder Jamie Hoffmann to their 40-man roster this offseason.

Hoffmann was technically selected by the Nationals in last year’s Rule 5, but it was the Yankees pulling the strings and deciding who would be picked. Hoffmann was immediately traded to the Yankees as the player to be named later in the Brian Bruney trade.

With a little bit of power, a little bit of speed and a glove that plays in all three outfield spots, Hoffmann came into camp needing to beat Marcus Thames for a spot on the Yankees roster. Neither had a good spring and the Yankees went with Thames’ experience, which obviously turned out to be a good choice.

Hoffmann, though, had a nice year in Triple-A, and now he’ll get a chance to stick with the Dodgers and fight for a job with them this spring. Hoffmann’s a good guy — soft-spoken, goes about his business — so best of luck to him.

I had a friend tell me recently that she owns more than 200 pairs of shoes. I smiled through the obvious exageration, only to discover she was being perfectly serious. I have a little sister, so I understand that there’s a gender gap when it comes to shoes, but 200? Seriously? That’s 400 individual shoes. How is there even room for that many in a New York City apartment?

I’m betting even she doesn’t have a pair quite like this.

A pair of Yankees autographed high heels are being auctioned for a terrific cause. One hundred percent of the proceeds go toward sending a Multiple Sclerosis patient from Canadian to New York for MS liberation treatment.

You can get in on the auction through eBay.

The shoes have been signed by Joe Girardi, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Phil Hughes, Curtis Granderson, Mariano Rivera, Brett Gardner, Mark Teixeira, Dave Robertson, Chad Guadin, CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano. That’s a pretty good group.

In his two-plus months in pinstripes, Lance Berkman very quickly became a media favorite in the Yankees clubhouse. He was candid and funny and approachable. A very nice guy dropped into a very odd, unexpected situation.

It was clear that he wanted to do everything in his power to help the Yankees win, but he was a role player for the first time in his career, and it was clear most of his personal ties remained in Texas.

Today, the FOX television station in Houston reported that the Astros are not likely to bring Berkman back next season (tip of the hat to MLBTradeRumors). The Astros have little choice but to rebuild, and signing a soon to be 35-year-old first baseman — whatever his ties to the organization and the city — doesn’t make enough sense.

There are plenty of connections to be made between the Berkman and Derek Jeter situations: Both are local icons within their respective franchises. Both are aging superstars, showing diminished results in 2010. Both never expected to play for any other organization.

For Berkman, the situation officially changed in July, but realistically it changed long before that when Houston began going in the tank and set the stage for a drastic and inevitable rebuilding process.

For Jeter and the Yankees, there is no rebuilding, and there is no obvious alternative for either side. There are obvious similarities between Jeter and Berkman, but it remains difficult to imagine a similar outcome.

The free agent market opened to all teams at 12:01 this morning. Based on the players under contract with the Yankees — or at least under team control — this would be the current 25-man roster (or at least one version of it).

Lineup
Brett Gardner LF
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Jesus Montero C
Eduardo Nunez SS

As an everyday shortstop, I’ll give Nunez the nod ahead of Ramiro Pena. Montero opens the season toward the bottom of the order until he gets his feet wet.

Bench
Francisco Cervelli C
Ramiro Pena INF
Colin Curtis OF
Greg Golson OF

As you might expect, the bench is light on offense. I’ll go with the left-right combination of Curtis and Golson, but carrying Kevin Russo as a right-handed bat with defensive versatility would also make sense. Other options: Jorge Vazquez, Brandon Laird and Reegie Corona.

Rotation
CC Sabathia LHP
Phil Hughes RHP
A.J. Burnett RHP
Ivan Nova RHP
Dustin Moseley RHP

The only other options with more than 12 Triple-A starts are Romulo Sanchez and Sergio Mitre. In this unlikely scenario, though, Joba Chamberlain might suddenly become a starter again.

Bullpen
Joba Chamberlain RHP
Dave Robertson RHP
Boone Logan LHP
Sergio Mitre RHP
Jonathan Albaladejo RHP
Romulo Sanchez RHP
Kei Igawa LHP

All hands on deck! Bring back the Kei-man! In all seriousness, if the Yankees somehow were left with only the players currently under team control, I’m sure you’d see one of the upper-level starters — Brackman, Phelps, Noesi — get a long look either for the rotation or the bullpen.

Clearly none of these scenarios is actually going to happen, but right now, these are the Yankees: A surprisingly good lineup, a light-hitting bench, a rotation without depth and a bullpen that needs a couple of pieces.

Just an early heads up. I’m sure we’ll have a reminder as we get closer to the event, but the Yankees sent this announcement this week and I wanted to pass it along.

Yankee Stadium will host a very special “Breakfast with Santa” on Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

All in attendance will be able to enjoy a hot breakfast buffet at Hard Rock Cafe, a personal photo with Santa Claus and an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of Yankee Stadium. Each child in attendance will receive a special gift bag directly from the North Pole.

Fans interested in attending “Breakfast with Santa” at Yankee Stadium must register in advance by visiting www.yankees.com/santa, calling 646-977-8400 or e-mailing events@yankees.com. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. The cost to attend is $60 per person or $200 for a family of four.

WHAT: BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

DATE: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2010, AND SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010

PLACE: HARD ROCK CAFE YANKEE STADIUM
(Next to Gate 6 Entrance – corner of River Ave. and E. 161st St.)

TIME: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

The Arizona Fall League’s fifth annual Rising Stars Game will be on MLB Network tonight at 9 ET, and the rosters include three of the Yankees top prospects: LHP Manny Banuelos, C Austin Romine and 3B Brandon Laird.

The Rising Stars Game is an all-star game, but it’s more of a showcase for the top prospects — not necessarily the top performers — in the Fall League.

Banuelos was picked as the starting pitcher for the East team. He’ll be starting against Royals prospect Mike Montgomery.

Eighteen former first-round Draft picks are on the rosters for this year’s Rising Stars Game, including a young Pirates catcher named Tony Sanchez. Phil Hughes has been in the Rising Stars Game. So have Buster Posey, Mike Leake, Gordon Beckham, Ryan Braun, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Ike Davis.

The clock will strike midnight with none of the Yankees free agents re-signed.

The Yankees do not expect to work out any sort of deal before tonight’s deadline, meaning all of their free agents — including Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera — will hit the open market at 12:01 tomorrow. The Yankees have had exclusive negotiating rights since the end of the World Series, but no deals have been reached.

This hardly comes as a surprise. The team has given no reason to expect a quick resolution with Jeter or Rivera, and Andy Pettitte has always been expected to take his time deciding whether to come back next season.

The Yankees will also not re-sign either Austin Kearns or Marcus Thames within the exclusive negotiation window, leaving both outfielders free to sign elsewhere.

The Yankees camp and Derek Jeter’s camp have each set the stage for lengthy contract negotiations. At the very least, they’ve each prepared the fan base for the fact Jeter won’t be signed by midnight tonight.

It all seems like posturing — both sides making sure they won’t look like the bad guy should this thing go into the 10th round — but it also leaves the door open for public speculation and doubt.

Is there really a chance a deal won’t get done? Are there really other teams that could come into play?

Over at the San Francisco Chronicle, Henry Schulman jump into that very speculation, acknowledging that he fully expects Jeter to re-sign with the Yankees, but also writing that he expects the Giants to pay attention to those negotiations.

Should contract talks go south, Schulman wonders, might Jeter go west? He has some connections to Brian Sabean, the Giants need a shortstop and both sides expect to win next season.

I don’t expect any of this to matter. Ultimately I’m one of, well, everyone, who expects Jeter to be back with the Yankees next season and beyond. But it is interesting to see other markets begin throwing his name in the mix.

When the clock ticks one minute past midnight, baseball’s free agent market bursts wide open. The league and the Players Association, though, will try to keep the door closed on rumors and speculation.

As outlined by Buster Olney over at ESPN: Major League Baseball and the Players Association are trying to cut down on the amount of negotiating that takes place through the media.

It’s hard to imagine how this could be enforced, and personally I can’t imagine how it would work. Writers have sources, and conversations lead to stories. That’s how these things leak.

Olney suggests it might be viewed as a kind of “honor code.” Both sides — players and executives — have something to gain by keeping things quiet, so both sides might agree to do their best to work silently.

Maybe it will change things for a day or two, but ultimately there are too many people involved, and some of those people are paid to ask questions and track down answers. We’ll know within the next few weeks whether these attempts are working.