Yankees may try to offer Lackey deal similar to Burnett's; Mets to pursue Halladay again?

Yankees should pass on Lackey. Don't underestimate AJ. It was his first year in NY. He may be a head case, but everyone saw what he can do when his head is screwed on right. Let him fit in, give him time.

Yankees need another lefty, unless Pettitte can go on forever. Playing 81 games in Yankee stadium, you can't have enough left handed pitching. Pass on Lackey, unless they take Wang and Joba.

don't need Lackey. Wang coming back and let Hughes get a fair shot to be in the rotation. Jaba to the pen.

I thought that John lakey will sign with the Dodgers for 4 years with 40 million for his contract that Lakey will land with the Dodgers for his contract worth 40 million with 4 years

It would be great, if the Yankees acquired Lackey. He's been a known Yankee killer for the past seasons.

The article says maybe and ends in a ?. This maybe all true but seems like hype.

Let Wang take his time getting back.The Yankees will have plenty if Andy comes back.

Oliver Perez was a bust...
Burnett was not a bust, but he certainly was not a steal.
At 13-9, he won 4 more games then he lost.
Break those 4 wins down to his yearly salary and the Yanks paid him over 4 million dollars per win.
If the Yanks do get Lackey, they'll be the only team in baseball that can afford to pay him, Sabathia and Burnett.

As for the Mets and Halladay...can you imagine facing Santana and Holiday in a 5 or 7 game playoff?
Of course, Mets would have to get there first.

AJ was not a bust. He is overpaid, but he is not a bust. The Yankees got exactly what they should have been expecting from him all season and that game 2 start probably saved the series for the Yankees. If the Yankees or we fans were expecting anything more than what we got, then they were not paying attention to his past seasons. 2008 was a career year for him. As for Lackey, he is considerably better than Burnett. Burnett has better stuff, but no control and any mistake out over the plate in the majors is going to get hammered. And when he is in that situation, he usually walks too many so they are not solo HRs. Lackey has pinpoint control and is a bulldog. He figures out how to win or at least keep his team in a game when he doesn't have his best stuff. You will not see too many games get away from him like Burnett. That is the stuff aces are made of. He is not in the top tier for sure but he is not that far behind them. He would be the #2 behind CC with Andy #3 and Burnett #4. And Andy and Burnett could be swapped but probably wouldn't to keep the L-R-L-R combo going. Let the others fight it out for #5.

The Yankees will go into spring training with the following pitchers in their system: CC, AJ, Wang, Joba, Hughes, Aceves, Gaudin and possibly Andy if he returns for one more go around. That is 8 pitchers who could potentially start albeit only 2 (3 if you count Andy) would be guaranteed spots in the rotation. I'd say let the rest of them compete for the available spots out of spring training and see who rises to the occasion. The ones who don't make the cut should be sent either to AAA where they can pitch on a regular basis and be ready to fill in should a starter go down or to the bullpen where Aceves and Hughes and Joba later on really helped solidify the late inning relief corps. If the right price presented itself then Lackey would be a great addition but the Yanks seem to be alright as is pitching wise right now. And even if none of those guys pan out as long as the playoffs contain so many off days they won't have to worry about #4 or #5 starters anyway.

Lackey would be the Yankees # 2. Pay him more than Burnett because he is better. Give him 5 yrs 95 mil and he will sign.

I think they should go for it, but give him no more than AJ. AJ will still be the #2 sarter and #3 or 4 should not make more money. They should go for it because they need at least one more proven starter in the rotation and other than Lackey there are no other options. Toronto would never allow Halladay to come to a same division team. Wang seems to be done, his injury was a blessing in disguise because he was on his way to the worst season he ever had and it is unlikely that he will go back to his 19 or 20 win years. They should stretch Hughes as the #5 starter and keep Gaudin as a #6, in case of injuries. Leave Joba in the pen as setup.

Lackey would be #3 behind AJ on the Yankee rotation if he were signed. I see no reason to overpay him.

Lackey is more consistent than AJ..he is a great pitcher, goes deep and has the intensity to pitch..can pitch well on the road...he would be a welcome addition to the Yanks who need a starter anyway
AJ wasnt a bust, he just struggled mostly on the road and we know now he cant do a 3 days rest pitching performance

I agree D, AJ is no bust, and his game 2 pitching performance was huge. He has tremendous stuff when on, better than almost any pitcher in baseball, trouble is you only see that about every third game, and never know what your getting until he's out there. He is most definitely overpaid, but is no where near a bust.

The Yanks other option here would be to go after someone thats more of a risk but might be a bigger reward and of course a lower price tag like Sheets, or Duchscherer. This is still not a bad option considering you have Wang, and Kennedy for depth.

How was Burnett a bust? He pitched great in game 2 of the series and basically kept the Yankees in it. They are down 2-0 without that performance. He wasn't perfect during the year, never has been, but that game was crucial.

I would like to see them try to get Halladay instead. Lackey is good but Halladay is better, besides he kills the Yanks almost every time he pitches against them. Trouble is Toronto probably won't trade him to a team in their Division.

Leonard, please tell me you are joking... Pavanon!! He was already a Yankee and it was a disater.
A quote from Mike Mussina in Joe Torre's book "the 15 day Pavano". I loved reading that. Did he ever pitch more then 50 innings while he was a Yankee? What a joke.

Amen #4--A.J. was a big bust and he, hopefully, realizes that! Hope he is not another Pravona!


Gooooo, Yankees!

Excellent post by Bryan. A healthy Wang would be the perfect solution. Pavano is also available. ;)

I do think Lackey is a good fit for the Yanks, but he does not deserve AJ money, hell AJ didn't deserve AJ money. That being said AJ has far better stuff than Lackey, it just hasn't translated to success as well. Lackey would be the perfect #3/4 with the Yanks (Pettite being the other either 3/4). A rotation of CC, AJ, Pettite, Lackey, and either Hughes or Gaudin (with Wang, and Kennedy available at some point when needed) would easily be the best in baseball. then the Yanks can leave Joba for the 8th inning and eventually groom him to take over for Mariano, the only place I ever see him being successful.

I agree...yankees should pass

Not a good fit for the Yankees. They should pass.

I hope Lackey gets his money. He's earned it. I'm a die hard Angels fan, and would hate to see him go to the dark side. But hey, if they'll give em the cash...