January 02, 2008 Bonus mailbag: Bullpen, buying and the Babe A light-hearted dip into this week's Mailbag questions -- bonus edition... Other than LaTroy Hawkins, the Yankees have done nothing to improve their bullpen this off season. The starters look great, Mo is Mo, the offense is great. But without middle relief, aren't the Yankees looking for trouble? Can we really trust inexperienced rookies to carry middle relief? Can we really expect Kyle Farnsworth to come through? – Kevin M., Queens, NY I'll admit, I was surprised when Brian Cashman revealed that he's not only been receiving calls on Farnsworth, but that the Yankees were not inclined to deal him: "We're going to need him," Cashman said at the Winter Meetings. While I agree the Yankees do need a dominant eighth inning setup man, it's just not clear that Farnsworth is – or will be – that guy in New York. Joe Girardi claims that he knows what makes Farnsworth tick, having caught him with the Cubs, and can motivate him. Color me skeptical. At times last year, Farnsworth simply didn't seem to want to be in New York, and seemed like a prime candidate for a scenery change. If he can stop falling behind guys 2-0 and 3-1, that would help. I think the Yankees need a prime time ace in 2008. With Johan Santana able to opt out of his Minnesota contract, why give up the talent? Why don't the Yanks just buy the guy and give him what he wants? This way the Yanks won't have to give up great talent like Cabrera and Hughes. Just pay the guy and bring him to the Bronx. Is that a difficult task for the Yanks? - Jamal S., Dubai Santana has one year remaining on his contract with the Twins and cannot opt out. Many have stumped for the idea that Santana can simply be signed as a free agent after the 2008 season. There's a calculated risk in that. If another team trades for Santana now or at the deadline, it will almost surely be contingent on Santana accepting a long-term contract extension. Why did Chien-Ming Wang seem to change his pitching approach and shy away from his sinker later in the year? He seemed to switch late in the year and rely on the slider. Has he given up on his bread and butter? – Mike M., Kenai, AK Wang really started to incorporate changes and lean more on developing his off-speed pitches after being hit hard by the Red Sox. He had mixed results, but Ron Guidry was pleased with Wang's mindset and realizing that hitters were sitting on the sinker. There's a thought that Wang tired down the stretch – see: ALDS – and if he needed to try other methods to record outs, perhaps that will help him in the future. His sinker is still going to be his money pitch – it's just too good. Do you think Terry Francona managing the American League squad in the 2008 All-Star Game is another dagger in the hearts of Yankee fans? Clint Hurdle should have Joe Torre as a National League coach. What a great reception Torre would get. – Kyle D., Marlboro, MA No more of a dagger than in 2005, I suppose. Your thought about Torre is an interesting one indeed. Does Torre want to come back to New York during the All-Star Break (L.A. finishes up at home and then opens the second half in Arizona)? If not as a NL coach, perhaps Torre can get the Dodgers to the World Series and return to the Bronx that way. I bet most Yankee fans would be even happier that matchup. The original Yankee Stadium was built when Babe Ruth was in his prime years of his career, and was called "The House that Ruth Built." Now that the New Yankee Stadium is being built, and Alex Rodriguez is in the prime years of his career, is the new stadium going to be called, "The House that A-Rod built?" – Philip B., Paramus, NJ I guess it depends on World Series titles. For now, let's have the working title of 'The House that George built.' January 02, 2008 at 12:49 PM http://tinyurl.com/yprues --

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