Is Dotel Next? Depends Who You Ask

Newsday thinks so, but the Post thinks not. Interesting line in the Post's piece: Dotel, a 32-year-old right-hander who underwent elbow ligament transplant surgery last June, spoke with Cashman early last night from the Dominican Republic and was waiting for George Steinbrenner's approval later in the evening. That approval never came.

You kinda wonder how much of a role George has been playing this winter. Obviously, after Cashman decided to come back, I'm sure that George wanted to put him in charge for awhile, and maybe sweeten things for him. And so far, no Yankee youngsters have been traded yet (except for some no-name for Ron Villone). I do think Farnsworth was probably a George deal, though I wouldn't put it past Cashman, either. But otherwise, with Myers and Villone? Probably Cashman.

And as for Dotel, could this be George taking back control? Getting Dotel is a gamble: the guy could turn out to be another Lieber, or he could be another Wade Miller. But for $2 million, the Yanks have no problem with gambles. If George is really taking back control, we'll probably see an overpaid Johnny Damon in pinstripes soon.

-- As for Farnsworth, we've already discussed why this move is incredibly stupid, and Joel Sherman has a piece with further detail. Gotta love that opening line: REARRANGE the letters in Kyle Farnsworth's name and I believe you spell "Mark Wohlers" or "Jay Witasick."

-- I wouldn't be too upset if the Junkees got Julian Tavarez. The guy's got a temperment that would be a disaster in New York. Also, a look at his stats shows that his numbers were awful for years till he got to St. Louis. I think Dave Duncan has somewhat of a Leo Mazzone effect on pitchers, leading them to overacheive in St. Louis. It could also be the way LaRussa uses his pitchers. But in recent years, it seems like the Cardinals have always had one of the best bullpens in the league. So I think Tavarez would be another Jay Witasick in New York. I've got no problem with that.

I just don't get why the Cardinals decided on Looper instead on Tavarez. I'm sure pizzabagel and the other Met fans out there can explain. But again, you've gotta give the benefit of the doubt to Jocketty and LaRussa, who have done a helluva job in St. Louis.

-- I'm glad the Junkees didn't get Nomar, for one reason: if he would've gotten a big hit in a Yankees-Red Sox game, the papers would've gotten all horny over the guy getting back at his former team. I definitely don't need to see that.

-- By the way, if you want to hear about A-Schmuck and the World Baseball Classic, you'll have to go elsewhere. Honestly, I'm more interested in the NHL (and the MLS, while we're at it) than the WBC.