Phelps gives us something to root for

Thank you Michael Phelps.

We, as sports fans, owe you a debt of gratitude. Not for winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, a personal accomplishment unrivaled by any in recent sports memory. Not for providing some of the most memorable sporting moments in the midst of an utterly forgettable sports summer. Not even for doing it all with a style and grace rarely seen today in athletes who seem to gravitate towards the Terrel Owens notion of sportsmanship.

No, we thank you for something different. We thank you for being as good as advertised.

See, here is America we are pretty used to false claims and unfullfilled promise. We see it in our products all the time. You know that knife that is suppose to cut through concrete? Well, it doesn't. You know how digital television is suppose to be the best thing any of us have ever, ever seen? Guess again.

We also see it in our sports.

Big Brown was suppose to be a shoe-in to win the triple crown this year for the first time in more than two decades and, for two races, he looked like, well, you: unbeatable. We, as sports fans were told history was about to be written and something special, something unique was sure to take place before our eyes. So what happened? Big Brown, whether because of a broken horse shoe, bad jockey riding, or just overhyped talent, finished dead last in a race we were told would be remembered forever.

That's not all that uncommon Michael.

Every time a new hot shot basketball player comes to the NBA we are told the next Michael Jordan has arrived. Every time someone hits in 25 straight games, we have ESPN or FoxSports ticking down to Jo Dimaggio's record breaking 56, as if they will ever, ever come close to such numbers.

Even in these Olympic games, we were told to watch Tyson Gay. He would be the fastest man in the world before all was said and done. The result? Tyson didn't even make the finals of his supposed best event.

So, forgive me, Michael if, before the games began, I was somewhat skeptical of all the hype surrounding you. The next Michael Spitz they said; eight gold medals in one Olympics they said; one of the greatest athletes of all time they said.

Please, I had heard it before. It was the same song and it almost always ended the same way; cut off in the middle.

Now, a week after first watching you take to the pool in Beijing, I feel somewhat foolish. Now, after all the accolades and awards have been handed out, and the picturesque pool has been silenced, it seems as if NOTHING could have prevented your from meeting all expectations. You weren't just as good as your word, you were as good as the word of people who so many times throw accolades around without much thought.

So I thank you Michael, we all do, because you were even better than advertised.

Unlike so many other sports at the Olympics, each and every one of us knows what swimming is all about. No, we don't know it as well as you, turning each action and turn into an art form, but we do know how it feels to be stretching and straining each muscle in our body as we struggled through the water, doing laps in our own back yard, feeling utterly spent after only a few moments of exertion. That's why, as America watched you this week, we could both appreciate and marvel at what you were doing. The fact that you were able to stand, let alone swim, by Friday for your 100 meter breaststroke final is remarkable.

At no point did you ever disappoint. At no point did you show an obvious flaw; a kink in the armor.

You were billed as dominant and, in most meets, you proved that point, putting unimagineable distance between yourself and the best swimmers in the world. In a sport where winning and losing is measured in inches, you were winning by seconds, the equivalent of lapping another driver in a NASCAR race.

You were also billed as the ultimate competitor, taking losing personally and refusing to ever give in. Once again, you were as good as promised, helping to make up time in the first, dramatic 4X 100 freestyle and then pulling off a MIRACLE victory in the 100 breaststroke, using one last ounce of energy, one last thrust to complete your mission.

Last, you were billed as a good teammate, something we hear a lot and see little evidence of when it comes to other athletes. But, in this case, it would seem the praise was justified. Instead of paying begrudgeing tribute to your teammates, offering them lip service while waiting to talk about your own incredible accomplishments, you seemed to legitimately want to share the spotlight and went out of your way to celebarte the relay wins as much or more than your individual success.

Some say the Olympics has become somewhat passe; a relic of another time when American patriotism was savored rather than dismissed as optomistic rantings or uneducated delusions. Yet, you became OUR athlete. You became OUR gold medalist. You became OUR representative to the world, and you did that with class, dignity, and dominance.

For one week in the summer of 08 you gave me and millions of others something to remember. Long after each one of us has changed houses, job, perhaps even relationships, we will remember you and your breathtaking time in the pool in China.

Thank you for that again, Michael. You could have simply been like every other athlete, but, instead, you were exactly the kind of athlete that makes us believe in sports, and exactly the type of American that makes us believe in this country.

BYE BYE MIKE AND THE DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"This is not life or death" Mark Mason, the former program director at WFAN proclaimed during a call-in session with Mike Francesa on Friday afternoon, and he was right. The break-up of the long-running, influential, revolutionary radio show "Mike and the Mad Dog" was over, but it wasn't the end of the world.

At that moment, those were important words. Like the show itself, the afternoon session had taken on a more serious, self-important tone than was really necessary. No one was jumping off a bridge because Mike and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo would no longer being battling one another over sports each day. No one was leaving the country, no longer sure democracy could work when it had failed to keep the two talk-show hosts together for at least one more decade.

This was the end of a talk-show, nothing else.

But, listening yesterday afternoon, as Mike spoke for 15 minutes at the beginning of the show about how much his time with Mad Dog had meant and how much he assumed it had meant to the listeners, the medium, and the world overall - and later, when an emotional yet somewhat more sensible Mad Dog called in, letting loose his emotions yet going out of his way to thank the fans (something Francesa had not done during his monologue) - it became clear that something was, indeed, ending this day.

You see, sports talk radio has become a fixture in America and much of that is due to Mike and Chris. It isn't hard to imagine why so few people thought that the new format could work. Would people really tune in ALL DAY to listen to people talk about sports? Would anyone even know it was on?

Now, after 20 years, such questions seem somewhat comical.

Sports talk has become a fixture in every media market, from the major cities to college towns. People WANT to hear what others have to say about sports. They tune in and the show becomes almost like elevaror music. You can pay attention when you want and tune out when you want.

Mike and Mad Dog pioneered the industry and for nearly two decades, love them or hate them, you would have to admit they did it better than anyone else.

Their personalities meshed perfectly together.

Dog is a spastic, off-the-cuff, at times irrational sports fan who resembles the somewhat delusional fans who call the show. His personality was so over-the-top, yet seemingly so genuine, it was fascinating to hear and to watch him on the YES Network, which had telecast the show since 2001.

Francesa came to the show with more credibility and seemingly always offered that to the duo. Francesa had worked for CBS and had covered NCAA basketball for years. When he came, he brought his connections and his more a-matter-of-fact attitude, a no-nonsense, somewhat know-it-all attitude that played perfectly with Dogs more emotionally driven persona.

In interviews, the two would routinely tag-team victims, attacking any weakness or seemingly contradicting statement. The view of their performance was dictated by the person they were stripping bare; if it was a good-guy, a fan-favorite, then they many times seemed unprofessional and overly combative for no reason. If it were a goat, someone the fans had built a long-lasting resentment against (Isiah Thomas, Steve Phillips, etc......) then the two seemed to be exacting thier rightful pound of flesh in the name of the fans.

No matter what, however, their at times hostile tone seemed to always elicite more emotionally raw and perhaps revealing answers from professionals groomed to give little or nothing to the media.

During the 5 1/2 hour swan song for the show Friday, Francesa referred to it as a "must listen" and while the tenor of the comment might have made many recoil from the obvious self-indulgence, it was true. When something big happened in New York - a big trade, a big loss, a big win - you wanted to hear what Mike and the Dog had to say. You wanted to hear what each of them thought about the situation.

When the Yankees won their first world championship in 1996, you wanted to hear what, exactly, the two would say. When Mike Piazza was traded to the Mets, in no small part due to the pressure the talk-show tandem put on the Met organization to pull the trigger, you wanted to hear what their take would be. Francesa said he was "told" that the two had become a part of the New York sound track and, you know what, he was right. If you loved sports, you KNEW what the two had to say about the important New York sports issues.

What made the two terrific together will, perhaps, be what keeps either one from achieving great success separately. During the summer months, when the two rarely worked together, it was hard to listen to them individually. Dog was TOO over the top without Francesa, making stupid, outlandish comments without any backing. His show was too all-over-the-place, jumping from baseball to tennis to his personal golf outing the week before, and the show felt more national than local (something that might help Dog in the long run).

For Francesa, his slow, deliberate way of approaching an issue can be boring at times. His know-it-all personality off putting and his obviously high opinion of his own importance tiring. Without the personality of Dog, who seemed to enjoy the fans as much as he argued with them, Francesa's act will quickly tire.

Which one will be more successful? That is hard to say. Francesa is being handed a time-slot he and his partner made a habit. People tune in because, well, that's what they do. Even if Francesa's newly designed show is flat, he will more than likely stay close to the top of the New York ratings based on where he is on the dial.

Russo has more of a challenge.

Rumored to be going to Sirius radio, the Mad Dog will almost certainly have a national show. Will his New York fans follow him to not only a national show, but to a show that demands payment each month? For those who already have the paid radio subscription, Dog will probably attract them at least for a while. For those who don't, are they going to go out and buy the channels just to listen to him? Doubtful.

However, as I said before, Mad Dog did have a more "national show" feel to his solo acts anyway. He liked to talk about the NBA, something Francesa almost never acknowledges. He loves tennis, follows different teams across the country in the major sports, and was much more apt to make national, televised appearances discussing different issues. Also, Sirius Radio has just completed a merger with XM radio, meaning that the amount of current subscribers are about to double AND, through a lot of word of mouth, more and more people seem to be picking up on the satellite radio across the country. With different car manufacturers offering the sattelite radios with all new purchases, people are turning to the new genre much the way people began to turn to cable television and dish networks over time. That means that, while regular radio is certainly not in danger of dying off, it isn't likely to expand either. Sattelite radio seems to be the wave of the future, and Dog would be in on that cultural transformation.

The truth? I would bet on both being somewhat successful, but nothing compared to what they had been previously. The truth is, Mike and the Dog had been losing their influence over the last two years as it was. ESPN had put a ban on their personalities appearing on the show, feeling that it would provide their "competition" with unecessary advantages. Also, after a string of unprofessional interviews, less and less New York players and front office personalities seemed willing to go on their show. Brian Cashman, who had been a fixture on the Mike and the Dog , almost never went on any more. Hank Steinbrenner has refused to even acknowledge the show's existence, despite the fact that it is telecast on the YES Network. The Wilpons, owners of the Mets, haven't made an appearance in months, and neither have the Dolans, owners of the Knicks, and Mike D'Antoni, their new head coach.

Francesa called Friday's telecast a "sad occasion" and, in fact, it was. Sports is an escape, and whether your liked them or hates them, Mike and the Mad Dog was a GREAT escape. Let's face it, it was a part of that escape to get angry and aggravated at Mad Dog because he was picking on the Yankee fan, or at Francesa because he was going after Bill Wagner for playing "Enter Sandman" when he came out of the bullpen. It was a part of their appeal. Now, that escape is gone. They might provide a portion of that separately but they will never be able to achieve such heights without one another.

We, as sports fans, will have to flip around the dial a little more than usual between 1 and 6:30. Perhaps both will develop new and innovative shows, introducing fun and dynamic personalities, but more than likely the clock is now ticking on both of their careers.

And who loses in the end? The fans, as usual.

Here's hoping someone, somewhere, steps up and fills the void. Like them or hate them, Mike and the Mad Dog were a part of our daily routines and now. No longer, however, no longer.

Now that's what sports are suppose to be about.............

I don't know about you, but after spending a weekend watching a $200 million team play like a third tier little league squad, listening to a 22-year-old rookie pitcher talk about not being too upset after he gave up 5 runs and 9 hits in two innings of work, and watching two millionaire baseball players literally treat a soft, bouncing ground ball like it had been dipped in uranium, I was looking for a reason to convince myself that, yes, being a sports fan IS worth the while.

Enter team USA and the 4X100 freestyle relay in the Olympics last night.

Now, I'm not gonna try and pretend I am some sort of swimming expert. If you asked me who Michael Phelps was 4 months ago I would have guessed the Green Party nominee for President. But the beauty of the Olympics is that you truly don't have to be a ardent, hard-core, live-and-die fan of the sport to enjoy the competition.

What do you need to know about what happened last night in Beijing?

First, the American team was NOT favored to win the event, even though they have Phelps, clearly the best swimmer in the world, as a part of the race. Second, the French ARE the best team in the world and were described as heavy favorites to take home the gold. Is that true? I have no clue, so I'll assume yes. Third, the French, as if on cue, talked smack before the games, with their anchor swimmer (the guy who swims the last leg of the race) saying that En Francais was going to "smash" the USA team. Fourth, the race seemed to be going that way when, despite a great opening run by Phelps, where he set an Olympic record for time, the Americans had fallen behind by half a body length with 50 meters to go (one lap). In swimming, half a body length is sorta like a three horse length in horse racing. It is pretty freakin good.
Finally, and most importantly, the team captain of the USA swim team, a guy named Jason Lezak, who evidently has been the anchor swimmer for the USA for the last several Olympics and has seen his team lose out on the gold the last two times, was swimming that last length when he suddenly put it into over drive. There was no tomorrow for this team, for this swimmer, and despite the pain, the fatigue, the begging coming from his arms and legs to just let up, and the seemingly insurmountable lead by the favorite team, Lezak reached deep and pulled a second, third, and fourth gear out of the recesses of his body.
Lezak, with less than 50 meters to go, was suddenly making up the time. Then, suddenly, he was only a few arm lengths behind the leader. Then, suddenly, only a few finger lengths. The wall was approaching. Even with his furious run, his obvious momentum, it appeared it would all be too late. Then, with a final kick and stretch of his arm, Lezak touched the wall.

The scoreboard lit up. Lezak had won the gold for the American team.

Phelps and the rest of his teammates responded the only way one could after such an amazing, emotional race; every ounce of him, every muscle, emotion, expression, exploded in one moment. There were no words, only sounds of pure joy, excitement, amazement, and relief. His arms, legs, torso all expanded at once as he he stood, arms outstretched, fists clenched tightly. His teammates hugged and cheered around him and Lezak, spent, drained, overjoyed in the pool, kept his head down, savoring the moment.

What could make the moment even more sweet?

The final 50 meters, perhaps the most important in the history of the sport, had been won by Lezak but also lost by Alain Bernard of France, his cockiness himself who had declared his team would "smash" Lezak and his countrymen. Now, Bernard's comments and his collapse at the end will be remembered forever, even by people like me, who, when the Olympics have ended and the torch passed on, won't watch another second of swimming. I will remember that Alain Bernard made a prediction, had a chance to make that prediction and reality, and failed when the moment arose. And I will remember that Jason Lezak, with the odds firmly against him, with the hopes of his team and his country, resting on his back, made me remember why, exactly, it is that I love sports.

Through the haze of contracts and police reports, questions of steroid use and apathy, sports is still the only entertainment that can produce wonderful, lifetime memories on the most random of occassions. No one, not one person, sat down last night as expected to see something they will never forget. It was a random Sunday night, no more unique than last week or the week before. Yet anyone who watched Lezak stretch for that wall will never forget how long a split second can seem and how real life, in sports, is almost always more fascinating that fiction.

For a lot of people the Olympics is shunned, as if watching world athletes compete in elegant and interesting sports is somehow beneath sports fans who spend their time watching, and complaining, about millionaire athletes who pick and choose the moments that matter enough to give it their all.

But if you truly call yourself a sports fan and you weren't enraptured by what you saw last night, then you have become too jaded to even squeeze the small joys out of athletic competition.

Sunday night was what sports is suppose to be all about, whether it is on a baseball diamond, a football field, or in a pool. These are the greatest athletes in the world and, for one night, I was reminded of what those athletes can accomplish when their heart matches their talent.

All eyes on 09

Let's face it, back 8 games with about 45 to play the Yanks, who haven't played consistent baseball all year long, may very well not make the playoffs. If they do, it will be a feet that surpasses their more recent runs.

So, with that said, if I were running the New York Yankees, this is how I would design my squad for the 2009 season.

Catcher: Jorge Posada
Likeliehood: 70%
Need: Very Important
Posada retaining the full-time duties as catcher is important for several reasons. First, Posada, even at his elevated age, remains one of the best hitting catchers in the game of baseball and, despite the tigers willingness to trade Pudge Rodriguez off to the Yankess at the deadline, you almost NEVER see star-quality catchers changing teams. They are like a rare stone. If you find one, you keep it.
Also, if Posada can no longer hold down the catcher position, it forces the Yanks to move him to either first base or to the DH spot. The Yanks would almost certainly like to upgrade at the first base position next year, both offensively and defensively, and moving Posada there would hurt the team overall. Likewise the DH role which would seem to be a valuable tool for the Yanks who will need to start to rest their ageing players more often.

First Base: Mark Teixiera
Likelihood: 60%
Importance: Important
Teixiera is a 28-year-old, power-hitting gold glove caliber first baseman who can hold down the position for the next 10 years. He is a middle of the lineup switch hitter who would give the Yanks an incredibly balanced lineup next year and replace Jason Giambi and his embarrassing .180 batting average with runners in scoring position with a big hitter who will provide protection to A-Rod.
The problem? First, it is unclear how much money the Yanks are going to be willing to spend and how long a contract they would be willing to dole out to Tex. Teixiera is a Scott Boras client and he is probably going to be looking for the most money and the most years. The Yanks might want to offer close to the most money, but it is highly unlikely he would be offered the most years. Second, Teixiera grew up in Baltimore and may want to return to his roots. He may also fall in love with the warm weather and beautiful women of the Bay area in California, who, if they are successful with Teixiera iin the lineup for the rest of the season, will certainly be players in the sweepstakes. Teixeira has never said he doesn’t want to play in New York, and he does have family in the state, but it certainly isn’t guaranteed that he wants to be a Bronx Bomber. Finally, the Yankees might want to keep first base open as insurance in case Posada can’t stand up to the day-to-day rigors of catching. Could the Yanks sign Pudge Rodriguez after this year is over and flip Posada and he back and forth between first and catcher all year long in an effort to get the most out of each of their bats and keep them rested? That is a possibility.
I do think the Yanks will make a hard run at Teixiera but, with so many rumors swirling about what the slugger actually wants to do in the offseason, I can’t say the Yanks landing the big time free agent is more than a 60% chance.

Second Base: Robinson Cano
Likelihood: 98%
Need: Very Important
There is a slim, 2% chance the Yanks decide that Cano is always going to be a floater, never truly reaching his full abilities, and sell high on the second baseman for a top notch starter or stud position player. I doubt it, however.
As of now, Cano is the only big time, young position player the Yanks have on the team right now. He is 25, has power, has the ability to hit well over .300, and he plays terrific defense at second when his head is screwed on right.
The Yanks don’t need to trade Cano, they simply need the superstar-in-waiting second baseman to get off to at least a productive start next year and then progress into the player his talent suggests he can be. Cano has three-hole hitter written all over him, but right now he is far to inconsistent. Considering his age and his position, Cano taking two steps forward next year to make up for his one step back is imperative.

Short Stop: Derek Jeter
Likelihood: 100%
Importance: Very Important
It is no coincidence that the Yankees offensive woes have come in a year when Jeter has experienced his worst season as a professional ball player. Jeter is not only the Captain of the team, he is the catalyst, and while his numbers always seemed muted when compared to the best players in the league — to which he is always held side by side — his .320, 17, 83, .390, .480 numbers make him one of the most important top of the lineup hitters in the game. This year has seemingly been a struggle for the Captain from the very beginning, and it would seem a hand injury he suffered in May never truly healed properly, but Jeter is going to have a lot of people looking at him with a jaundiced eye this off season for the first time in his career. He is 34 — will be 35 next June — and several media types, and even fans, are wondering whether Jeter is starting the inevitable slide that comes with older age.
Jeter returning to form is not only important for himself, as he gets ready for his first free agency year since the beginning of this millennia, but also for the team, who feeds off his energy and his baseball savvy.

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez
Likelihood: 100%
Importance: Very, Very Important
Rodriguez had a season for the ages last year when he put up un-Godly statistics and deservedly won the MVP for the fourth time in his career. During his season to remember, A-Rod seemingly put his "unclutch" stigma to rest, coming up with big hit after big hit, especially in the month of April where it seemed the slugger won every game all by himself.
Now, in 2008, Rodriguez’s numbers have dipped, and while they have not fallen to the depths of his 2006 season, his inability to come up with the big hit in the big moment has surfaced once again.
Rodriguez, right now, is batting a paltry .223 with runners in scoring position and both his strike outs and his double plays are up over last year.
Like Jeter, it is very possible that the injury A-Rod suffered early in the year never truly healed, but seeing as A-Rod is the lynch-pin in the middle of this order, his ability to get big hits and drive in runs is not some sort of added luxury, it is an absolute necessity.
Whether A-Rod rebounds this year in big spots remains to be seen, but going forward in 2009, the Yankees will not be able to survive another disappointing season from their slugger.

Left Field: Xavier Nady
Likelihood: 90%
Importance: Important
Nady has already made Brian Cashman look like an absolute genius, batting over .380 since arriving on the Yankees and slugging well over .600. Nady is the type of player the Yankees built championship teams around in the 90s. He is a hard-nosed player with an ability to get clutch hits and play good defense. There might not be one thing Nady does exceptionally well, but he has the ability to do almost everything at an above average level.
Nady has already proven to be a valuable addition to the team, but his value is certainly not limited to this year. Nady plays a good left field, is only 29 year’s old (will be 30 in November) and appears to just be entering his own as a player. Despite not showing an inclination towards breaking Gatorade coolers and glaring at umpires, there is a strange Paul O’Neill feel to him and that makes him an important part of the team going forward. Nady isn’t so valuable that he couldn’t conceivably be traded in the offseason, but it seems unlikely the Yanks would move the left fielder, especially considering his ability to play first base gives the teams several options when they construct their 2009 roster.

Center Field: Johnny Damon
Likelihood: 55%
Importance: Somewhat Important
Last year, Damon lost his center field job to Melky Cabrera for a variety of reasons. First, Damon’s arm is truly a liability at this point. Second, it seemed widely believed that playing center contributed to his tendency to develop an injury or two — or three, or four, or five — during the season. Lastly, many within the Yankee organization truly believed that Melky Cabrera would continue to improve offensively while providing much needed defense at the position.
That seems like a long time ago now, here in 2008.
All of the question marks surrounding Damon still exist: he isn’t getting any younger, his arm isn’t getting any stronger, and he may very well break down trying to play center every day. But the one thing that has become obvious is that Melky Cabrera just isn’t an every day position player in the majors.
No, the Yanks don’t need an all start at every position, but they do need a competent player manning each spot in the lineup and, as Peter Abraham of the LoHud Yankees Blog pointed out this week, with a $200 million payroll, there is no excuse for the Yanks to have a fourth outfielder, at best, playing center field.
That Yanks seem reluctant to put Damon back in center full-time and they seem equally committed to giving Melky more time to prove he isn’t the player he appears to be. There is a good chance the Yanks make a move for a center fielder in the offseason, but, for my money, I would put Damon back in his spot and allow him to remain a place-holder for Austin Jackson, the only truly prized position player in the Yankee farm system, instead of spending prospects or money on a guy from outside the organization. Plus, there are no free agent center fielders of note on the market this year and Damon will be playing for a contract, meaning you might get a very healthy, and very productive year out of him.

Right Field: Bobby Abreu
Likelihood: 80%
Importance: Somewhat Important
Trust me, I have gone back and forth on this issue. I don’t really like the way Bobby Abreu plays the game. He makes dumb mistakes on the bases, plays a scared right field where taking a risk (like sliding or diving for a ball) is unheard of, and he seems to be a bully hitter, only producing when every one else around him is hot as well.
Having said that, this Yankee team can’t just throw productive offensive players away.
You can’t argue Abreu’s stats. This year he leads the Yankees in RBI’s and hitting with runners in scoring position. He is pretty much right at his normal numbers, will have a few more homers by the end of the year when all is said and done, and will again have a .400 OBP.
Can the Yanks just replace that? Perhaps, but I just don’t see where.
Abreu is a free agent this year and whether he returns to the Yanks will all depend on how much he believes his service to be worth. If he is looking for a four or five year deal, he will more than likely be holding down right field. But would the Yanks bring Abreu, 34, back on a three year deal with an option for a fourth? Why not? He is never injured and he always reaches his normal offensive numbers. He provides a different look, with speed to go along with some power, and as long as he keeps his head on straight, he is a very valuable player. Without a plethora of position players careening through the minors, the Yanks can ill-afford to just let good players go for no reason. My guess: Abreu is back next year.

Designated Hitter: Hideki Matsui
Likelihood: 75%
Importance: Somewhat Important
The Yanks seemed willing to explore trade options for Matsui at the beginning of the year, so it certainly is not out of the question they could go down that road once again. However, Matsui will be coming off the second major injury he has had in three years and, at 34, it is highly doubtful the Yanks would get a lot back for him if they did dangle his name.
Giambi will be an attractive option at DH come the end of the year (his power numbers are up, he is popular with both the team and the fans) but, when healthy and going well, Matsui is certainly the better hitter.
Matsui can no longer play the outfield, but he can still hit, and he is still one of the more feared clutch hitters in the game. Unless the Yanks can get something significant back for him, it would make little sense to trade him off, especially considering that, if he is healthy, you would expect nice numbers from the star player.

Projected Lineup:
CF Damon
SS Jeter
RF Abreu
3B Rodriguez
1B Teixiera
DH Matsui
LF Nady
2B Cano
C Posada

Couple of things here..................you can certainly make the case for Teixeira batting in the 3 hole over Abreu, but considering how poorly Giambi has batted in that spot this year, and how helpful it would be to have some real, legit power behind A-Rod, I like Tex in the five hole. He’ll have plenty of RBI opportunity’s there and it will provide a terrific lefty/righty combo there.
Posada in the nine hole? You could make the case to move Cano there, since he is a better athlete, but I think, at this point, Posada would be fine in that slot in the lineup and, really, where would you move him and who would you switch out? Nady? I wouldn’t, at this point. I think Nady can probably provide just as much power and a bit more of everything else in that spot. Matsui? Possibly. But, like I said previously, if Matsui is healthy he is still one of the best hitters in the league. Besides, of all the Yankees who are starting to hit their mid-30's, Posada is the oldest and, I believe, will fade the fastest because, well, he is a catcher.

Pitching Staff

Number One Starter: CC Sabathia
Likelihood: 65%
Importance: Very, Very Important
To me, Sabathia needs to be the jewel of the off season for the Yankees. I love the idea of Mark Teixeira coming to the Bombers and filling first base for the next decade, but, if the Yanks lost out in the bidding, or if he wanted to go somewhere else, the Yanks have wiggle room. They could package prospects and Melky Cabrera for another first baseman or perhaps a big-hitting corner outfielder and move Nady to first. There are options if Tex falls through.
But the starting pitching is another thing.
Sabathia’s resume speaks for itself, as does his profile. In 2007 he deservedly won the Cy Young. He is 27, will be 28 next year before the beginning of the season, he is a lefty, he is a power pitcher, he is durable, he has pitcher and pitched well in the AL, and he has playoff experience. There isn’t anything in his profile or his resume that would suggest he is a bust - a Barry Zito in the making. In fact, besides Johan Santana, you can make the case he is the surest thing you will see in terms of top flight pitchers.
The problem?
Well, unlike Teixeira, I don’t believe money will be the issue. The Yanks, I believe, will spend to get an under-30 power lefty pitcher, as they should. Like Tex, however, it is unclear whether CC wants to come to New York. There are reports that he is currently building a home in southern California. Now, a multi-millionaire, who is about to get even richer come the off season, building a home anywhere really shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Sabathia may very well be building himself a home in California because he likes the atmosphere there and plans to spend a lot of his time on the west coast. It doesn’t necessarily mean he is going to make his employment choices base on that. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez live down in Florida. A lot of players live all across the nation. It doesn’t mean they HAVE to play ball for the team within driving distance.
However, Sabathia is rumored to be a guy that won’t simply take all the money and run. He has played in Cleveland most of his career and now is in Milwaukee, where he has excelled. Is it possible CC just wants to stay in a smaller market team? That’s a possibility.
It is also a possibility that CC gets this sniff of the National League, where he gets between two and three automatic outs in each lineup, and enjoys the feel.
The Yanks will go hard after him, and they should. The question is whether CC wants to come, and no one will be able to answer that just yet.

Number Two Starter: Chien Mien Wang
Likelihood: 100%
Importance: Very, Very Important
Wang coming back to the Yanks healthy and on his game next year is vital. It is vital whether they sign Sabathia or not. Let’s say they sign Sabathia. They still need a proven #2 starter to take the ball every five days and give the Yanks an incredible 1-2 punch. If they don’t sign Sabathia, they need him to be the ace starter he appeared to be before he was injured. Plus, Wang has sort of become a "given" when looking at the future of the Yanks pitching staff. When the media and fans go through what the rotation should look like, everyone else is discussed endlessly while Wang is simply taken for granted.
Plus, Wang provides an incredible change of pace from the Yankees other starters. He throws a bowling ball of a sinker and he goes through innings like a fat man goes through candy.
Hopefully, Wang’s injury has no lasting effects and the right hander can stay healthy all next year.

Number Three Starter: Joba Chamberlain
Likelihood: 100%
Importance: Very, Very Important
I know, Joba, before his injury, looked like was about to take a step forward as the "ace" of the staff. However, Joba has still never thrown a full season in the majors and I, personally, can’t put him higher than Sabathia or Wang until he does. However, Joba, if he continues to improve, will certainly be the best third starter in the game.
What makes Joba’s year next year so important is very simple: he is the future of the franchise. If Joba doesn’t recover from his injury well or develops another injury, if he falters as a starter and can’t handle the pressure, or if he takes a step back as a starter rather than taking a step forward, it would be a devastating development for the Yanks. Plus, while Sabathia would be a huge boost to this rotation and a sure-fire ace, and Wang is as steady as they come, Joba has become a beloved Yankee player, following in the footsteps of the other homegrown Yankee greats who always have a special place in the Yankee fan’s heart. He has already become one of the favorite players on the team, and his unique personality combined with an old-school intimidation feel makes him so very marketable for both the Yanks and Major League Baseball.
Joba’s growth as a starter will be important to the team this year, next year, but especially for 2009 and beyond.

Number Four Starter: Andy Pettite
Likelihood: 80%
Importance: Important
I personally can’t see how, or why, Pettite would decide to retire after this year, especially considering it does not appear that the Yanks are a serious threat to win the World Series, even if they end up making a run at the playoffs. Pettite has been somewhat erratic this year, rattling off impressive streaks of games only to follow those up with a streak of two or three just horrible games. But Pettite has been healthy all year long and has pitched some of the biggest games for the team. If he wants it, he still has, one would assume, at least two or three top quality years left, and with the Yanks moving into a new stadium, and possibly retooling in the off season, it is hard for me to believe he will just pick up and leave at the end of the year.
Why would the Yanks want to bring Pettite back? This is a pretty simple question to answer. Look at the names on this list so far. Talented? Absolutely. Potentially dominate? No question. History of winning? Ummm............no.
Pettite, like Jeter and Posada and Mariano, all know how to win when it comes down to those situations. Pettite is a veteran lefty who can still get it done in the big spots, and he is a true Yankee. You don’t just throw that away.

Number Five Starter: Mike Mussina
Likelihood: 55%
Importance: Somewhat Important
Now, maybe by the end of this year Phil Hughes will be back with the big club and will be pitching so well it would be impossible not to envision the 2009 rotation without him. But, right now, how could you POSSIBLY not want Mike Mussina back next year? Mussina has a very, very good chance to win 20 games this year and is even a legit candidate for the Cy Young, especially considering there is still more than a month and a half of baseball left.
Of course I don’t expect Mussina to duplicate this year. It has been a surreal experience to watch him pitch this year. But it would also be foolish to expect that Mussina just can’t get it done any longer next year. Mussina would be a veteran presence in the rotation and he would ensure that the Yankees have a wonderful mix of young studs and veteran leadership.
Does Moose want to come back? You would have to assume he does. Would the Yankees want him back? How could you not if you are the Yanks? I mean, sure, if Hughes is just lights out for a month after returning to the team, perhaps you change your mindset, but as of now Mussina would make the most sense for next year. Plus, Mussina has been with the Yanks long enough now, and has done a good enough job for this team over the years, where he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Bullpen:
Mariano Rivera: Closer - Not much to say here. Goose Goosage might have a stroke any time someone calls Mo the greatest relief pitcher ever, but with all due respect to Goose, who was a great, hall of fame pitcher in his own right, Mariano is the best who has ever lived and, until he decides to walk away, much like Jeter, he stays where he is.

Jose Veras: Setup man - Plus fastball and great breaking stuff. He is just now starting to come into his own.

Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Humberto Sanchez: Late inning guys - All of these guys have plus stuff, and Marte and Bruney have proven track records. Sanchez is a big time, stud prospect who has Joba-like stuff and one would assume that he would push an Edwar Ramirez out of the late inning spot.

So there you have it. That would be my 2009 team. Question marks? Sure. Potential? Absolutely. I think that team, as constituted, would be a strong favorite to win a championship and would set the yankees up to remain strong in the futre, especially with Hughes not even in the rotation as of yet and Austin Jackson, the youngster in AA right now, waiting in the wings.