What is this, the third or fourth time they've done this? But this time they mean it!

The Yankees, then, will not restart trade talks with the Twins unless Hank Steinbrenner has another change of heart, a baseball official with knowledge of the talks told 1050 ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand.

Does Hank's heart need to change, or Hal's. I'm telling you, they really are the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of MLB now. If A-Rod asks them to deliver a message in person to Bud Selig, they'd better not wait around for Bud to read it.

(Yes, that was hackenyed. Sorry.)

Well, this means he'll be a Yankee by Friday...

WE W1LL NOT SIGN AFRAUD IF YHE FILES FOR RFEEE AGENCY!!!

Yawn.

Yawn regarding the whole Santana ordeal. I don't care what happens, I just want it to be over with.

I can't wait until the third time the Yankees pull out of the Santana race! It should be very exciting! As evidenced by my liberal use of exclamation points!

Maybe it is over with ;-)

Yawn regarding the whole Santana ordeal. I don't care what happens, I just want it to be over with.

Now you know what it feels like to be a Red Sox every one of the past 3-4 offseasons.

At first glance, I thought it said "Yankees pull trade off for Santana." Emphasis mine.

I was like, "Cool, now I'll have a good chance to see him no-hit the O's."

Now you know what it feels like to be a Red Sox every one of the past 3-4 offseasons.

Theo can't even decide if he wants to be GM or not. How can you expect him to decide on trades and stuff?

I skimmed the headline and I originally thought it said "Yankees pull trade off for Santana."

I haven't seen this much will-they-or-won't-they since Sam and Diane. Or Dave and Maddy. Or Luke and Laura.

Wait, I've seen this a lot.

"The Yankees, then, will not restart trade talks with the Twins <strike>unless</strike> until Hank Steinbrenner has another change of heart, a baseball official with knowledge of the talks told 1050 ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand."

Fixed!

I read the headline quickly and thought it said: "Yankees pull trade off for Santana."
At first glance, I thought it said "Yankees pull trade off for Santana." Emphasis mine.
I skimmed the headline and I originally thought it said "Yankees pull trade off for Santana."

When the headline popped up, I initially thought it said "Yangtze pulp bake-off, or Dan Tanna?" I was skeptical.

Both of these are incredibly novel observations.

I believe both of these posters have kevin on their "Ignore" list.

EDIT: Who did the Yankees give up?

I believe both of these posters have kevin on their "Ignore" list.

Who doesn't?

wait... Did the Yankees pull OFF a trade for santana?

This is really dumb. Even if he did that, why announce it? It just makes it easier for the Mets and Red Sox to negotiate with the Twins.

You seem to be under the illusion that Hank Steinbrenner is a calculating businessman, not a blustering jackass.

Why don't the Twins (a) keep Santana for 2008, (b) assess their position in late July, and then (c) either try to ride him to a pennant or trade him to a contender then (when the offers should be sweet)?

And if the Twins DO win next year with Santana, they might -- gasp -- even be able to keep him in town.

Is there any particular reason the above options don't seem to be part of the discussion?

Is there any particular reason the above options don't seem to be part of the discussion?

I'm not sure myself. Holding onto Santana seems like a perfectly viable option for the Twins to me.

I believe both of these posters have kevin on their "Ignore" list.



Who doesn't?

Seriously.

Is there any particular reason the above options don't seem to be part of the discussion?

It's obviously part of discussion. This isn't a situation where they plan to trade Santana for whatever is the best offer on the table.

"I wake up in the morning and hurry up and open up the paper to see if anything happened,"

Seriously, does anybody still do this? The newspaper? To see if anything happened since you checked the internet before going to sleep last night? That is the strangest part about this story.

Holding onto Santana seems like a perfectly viable option for the Twins to me.

Depends. Tell me what Santana has really said to the Twins in private, and I'll tell you if this is a "perfectly viable option" or not. If he has said -- or if he says at some point -- that he will exercise his no-trade clause and refuse to accept a deal once the season starts, then he puts the Twins in a very difficult position: they have to decide if (a) he's bluffing, and (b) if he's not, whether they honestly think they can realistically contend by holding on to him.

So long as they think trading him in-season is within their control, then sure -- it's an option. But they have Santana's veto power to consider, and that complicates matters. Considerably.

they have to decide if (a) he's bluffing, and (b) if he's not, whether they honestly think they can realistically contend by holding on to him.

Even if the answer to both questions is "no", it still might not be a bad idea to hold onto him.

Even if the answer to both questions is "no", it still might not be a bad idea to hold onto him.

Well, IMHO, it would be. They have offers on the table that would be better than taking draft picks for Santana after losing him when the season ends. Plus, they'd save the $13M they owe him for 2008, which makes all the sense in the world if they really don't think they can contend.

Both of these are incredibly novel observations.
I believe both of these posters have kevin on their "Ignore" list.

So did I, after his 'turn her tits into wallets' remark on a recent thread, but his comments keep showing up. Doesn't "ignore" mean you don't see that person's posts?

They have offers on the table that would be better than taking draft picks for Santana after losing him when the season ends. Plus, they'd save the $13M they owe him for 2008, which makes all the sense in the world if they really don't think they can contend.

Even if they don't think they can contend, they can do worse with $13 million than give it to Johan Santana. He's probably worth more to them than $13 million.

I'm not a believer in the notion that, if you don't think you can contend, you should dump all your veteran players.

I'm not a believer in the notion that, if you don't think you can contend, you should dump all your veteran players.

I'm not either. Just the ones who you know are going to leave at the end of the season, whom your owner is determined not to pay their market value, and whom you can trade to obtain reasonable value better than you'd get from FA compensation.

I'm not a believer in the notion that, if you don't think you can contend, you should dump all your veteran players.

If the Twins believe they can't contend, what's the upside of keeping Johan? Respectability? Fan attraction? Gettting Hughes et al is better than draft picks, no?

If the Twins believe they can't contend, what's the upside of keeping Johan? Respectability? Fan attraction?

Exactly that. Santana is worth more than $13 million to the Twins whether or not they contend.

I'd trade Santana for the Yankees' package, but that's just me. If I didn't think I was getting decent value for Santana, I wouldn't trade him.

Exactly that. Santana is worth more than $13 million to the Twins whether or not they contend.

IMHO, I would rather have the prospects too. The other route (failing to cash in on a vet's trade value to gain respectability or fans) seems like the Orioles Way the last 15 years.

The other route (failing to cash in on a vet's trade value to gain respectability or fans) seems like the Orioles Way the last 15 years.

No, the Orioles Way is to overpay for the decline phase of players' careers (this is also the Giants Way). I don't think the Twins are in danger of that.

No, the Orioles Way is to overpay for the decline phase of players' careers (this is also the Giants Way).

The Orioles Way can spell failure in more ways than one. For example, they held on to Tejada long enough to let his trade value decline.

At first, I thought that said "Yankees Lup Trade Reffo For Tanana" and I assumed that Frank Tanana was going to ump Yankee home games in '08. Fear not for my dyslexia. The scientologists will cure me.

I still don't see why the Twins wouldn't keep Santana. How much can he possibly be asking for? If you're in Minnesota, you're buying tickets to see Morneau & Mauer - and on every fifth day or so, Johan Santana. (And Joe Nathan every third day or so.) Their farm system isn't what it was a few years ago either. Those are the guys putting butts in the seats and the guys you can build around to create a contender. Unless they're asking for $50 million a year, I don't know why you'd let any of them go.

I thought it said Yankees pull off for Santana, as if that would make him more likely to play for them. I think he would be disgusted by it.

I hope he signs with the Nationals. #### New York and Boston.

Yankees VP Hank Steinbrenner said his team was still in the hunt for Johan Santana.

Steinbrenner said ESPN's report that the Yankees pulled their offer was untrue. "There wasn't an official offer anyway. You can't withdraw something that wasn't there," Steinbrenner said. "There was no official offer on the table at this time." According to Steinbrenner, there has been some dialogue between his club and the Twins. "It's still in the deciding process," he said. "We're still discussing it. There's still a little talk back and forth."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-yankees-santana&prov=ap&type=lgns

If the Twins believe they can't contend, what's the upside of keeping Johan? Respectability? Fan attraction?

Maybe they fear trading Santana, w/o getting a palatable (to the fans) package in return might sour luxury box,seat-license and season tickets sales for the new stadium.

They might also be hoping to get lucky w/Liriano's recovery and contend. If so, they should trade some of their minor league pitching for another hitter.

I thought the headline said ESPN: Source: Yankees pull trade offer for Santana. To think, the Yankees would consider trading Robinson Cano to Dipset for Juelz Santana! And for ESPN to collaborate with The Source when it comes to reporting the story!

Ervin? Carlos?

Moss.

Yankees VP Hank Steinbrenner said his team was still in the hunt for Johan Santana.

Steinbrenner said ESPN's report that the Yankees pulled their offer was untrue. "There wasn't an official offer anyway. You can't withdraw something that wasn't there," Steinbrenner said. "There was no official offer on the table at this time." According to Steinbrenner, there has been some dialogue between his club and the Twins. "It's still in the deciding process," he said. "We're still discussing it. There's still a little talk back and forth."

Hank: There, that's over with.

Cashman: What is?

Hank: I just got done telling the media we pulled our offer for Santana.

Cashman: You did what?!

Hank: I just got done...

Cashman: You dolt! Why would you tell them that?

Hank: Because I'm sick of all this Santana talk. Every day it's "Are you trading for Santana?" "What's the news on Santana?" "Santana baby, just slip a sable under the tree for me." Every. Single. Day. So I told them we're done. That'll shut 'em up.

Cashman: (sigh) What did I tell you six weeks ago?

Hank: That we should try to sign A-Rod?

Cashman: No. After that. About Santana, what did I tell you?

Hank: You said we want to keep Boston's price for Santana high enough that they won't sign him.

Cashman: Right.

(pause)

Hank: ...And?

Cashman: If they know we're out of the bidding, they won't have to bid very high.

Hank: But they don't know.

Cashman: What do you mean, they don't know?

Hank: I had someone check the press room. They weren't there.

Cashman: Who wasn't there?

Hank: The Red Sox. They weren't in the room, so they didn't hear me say it.

Cashman: So, just the media was in the room?

Hank: Yes.

Cashman: The media who write what you say in the newspapers?

Hank: Yes.

Cashman: The newspapers that the Red Sox will read tomorrow?

Hank: Ye - oh.

(pause)

Hank: I got it!

Cashman: (mutters under his breath) I doubt you do.

Hank: What?

Cashman: I bet you do! What is it?

Hank: I'll talk to them again and tell them we're not really out of it. Or maybe we are. Or maybe we were never formally in it, but we were talking with them and still do. That'll throw the Red Sox off the trail.

Cashman: Good luck with that. (mutters) Dolt.

PRIMEY FOR #47!!!!!