I am going to keep talking about this because it seems to create so much excitement among the Yankee-haters. Every club with money treats other teams like their farm system. It's called free agency, although you'd never know that from listening to some fans.

Johnny Damon is Judas (as in looks like Jesus, throws like Mary, Acts like Judas) for coming to the Yankees, but was a great guy for leaving KC to go to Boston. The 2004 Red Sox team also included a few bit players who came from other teams through trades/free agency, including: Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Manny Ranmirez, Ortiz, Schilling, Arroyo, Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Wakefield, etc.

But the Yankees buy their championships, right?

@Whispers: I really think the Yankees would be better off following the 90s model, and not the model of the 80s which they have reverted to in recent years. Okay, I agree, which is why I think they should augment their home grown talent (Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Chambelrain, Hughes, Kennedy, Cabrera, Cano, Phillips, Cairo, Duncan, Wang, etc.) with a few mid-to-late career veterans like Santana or Lowell.

I know facts are anathema to Yankee haters, but the championship years had a free free agents/trades who contributed; off the top of my head: O'Neill, Stanley, Martinez, Girardi, Boggs, Strawberry, Raines, Fielder, Key, Rogers, Gooden, Wettland, Nelslon, Knoblauch, Brosius, Charlie Hayes, Chili Davis, Cone, Wells, Stanton, Clemens all had pretty substantial careers elsewhere before coming and helping to win those 4 championships.

So maybe Cabrera and Kennedy is insufficient for Santana; maybe it will be Cabrera, Hughes, Ramirez and two players to be named later. I don't know; like everyone in hotstove league, until the trade is made, it is all just fantasy. Believe it or not I am not privy to the financial plans of the Twins. Of course I realize that other teams have good combinations to offer as well. I think Ellsbury + Buchholz would be a great opening bid in what would surely be long negotiations for Santana.

Cano straight up for Fielder, obviously not going to happen because Fielder is coming off a crazy year, but Cano packaged with a young pitcher might make sense (remember, I didn't make up this trade.) Cano is young (24) with 3 seasons under his belt with 190 hits/year, .314 BA, OPS in the .850 range, which is great for a second baseman. Baseball reference has him comparable to some pretty big names through age 24: Joe Mauer, Tony Lazzeri, Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Nomar Garciaparra, Rod Carew. Not that he will be them, but he might.

Fielder had an amazing year this year and maybe that is a portent of things to come and maybe it's a blip. Fielder might become Lou Gehrig but he might become Kent Hrbek (perfectly respectable, but no Josh Gibson). His 162 game average is 154 hits, .280 with an OPS of .915. He obviously has more power than Cano, but a lower average. He's also a 1B/DH and Cano is a 2B. One expects bigger numbers from a first baseman and these sample sizes (2 years and 3 years) are small to project much. But this would be a "completely ludicrous trade", right? Cause you know, if a Yankees fan thinks someone is good, it must be because of the evil media, right?

The lore around that Varitek 'fight' is so typical of RSN. I wouldn't even glorify it with the sobriquet of "sucker punch" -- that usually entails a punch. He shoved A-rod with an open glove while wearing his mask. I hate Carlton Fisk (in a good, respectful way) as much as any Munson-loving Yankee fan, but at least he took off his mask before he fought someone.

Buffalo is going to SHOCK. THE. WORLD.

Well, we would have if Lynch's ankle were healthy.

The big betting line here is the over-under on arrests in Orchard Park because of the late start. I'm not saying that giving Bills fans 10 or 12 hours of tailgaiting time before a game they may be out of after the first quarter is making the local authorities a tad nervous, but I believe they contracted Blackwater to come in and do security.

In the Jeddah remarks, Townshed says " I keep it because although it was written about

President George Washington but it reminds me of President Bush whose vision of

freedom has led to the liberation of 50 million Muslims from tyranny and oppression in

Iraq and Afghanistan."

Is that syntax glaringly incorrect? What the hell is that "but" doing in there? Geesh, they can't even write well when they suck up.

Seriously. Why do most politicians hate this document which has worked so well and inspired so many? They aren't even pretending any more to give a crap about the Constitution, except for Ron Paul of course-- but we keep being told he's a kook.

Just for reference's sake:

"Article. VI. - Debts, Supremacy, Oaths

...

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

Take him out of the running now. He is a danger to the Republic full stop. Hoping for a Giuliani nomination is playing with fire. He is the most dangerous candidate around.

Geesh, I thought that putting down people for reading books was the sort of thing Democrats might avoid and leave to the anti-intellectuals in the Bush White House. But no, apparently learning from the past and reading how previous presidents have handled challenges opens you up to charges of inexperience by, of all people, a woman who's own claim to experience is being married to a President.

Hey, my wife is a heart surgeon. She TOTALLY talks to me about it all the time. Can I operate on your chest?

She is despicable.