Right now the Yankees are looking at the unexciting prospect of a Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner platoon in center field, so I could see how they would be interested in Rick. As much as it pains me to think of my man crush in Yankee pinstripes, Ian Kennedy would be a fantastic return. But there is a rub. While The Slick Rick Show may be ready for Broadway, I’m not so sure I.K. is a good fit for with the coaching staff. There are some eerie similarities with him and someone else…

• Kennedy is a USC grad whose pitching mechanics are directly from the school of Tom House.
• He’s an extreme fly ball pitcher, and doesn’t have a sinker in his arsenal.
• His pitches grade as average, with the exception of his change-up, which is a very good offering.
• Kennedy dominated the minors but struggled with control in the majors.

Do we really want to go through this saga again? I personally would probably make the trade, but I don’t think Duncan could help himself, he would tinker. My heart can’t take standing by and watching that happening again.

Here’s some video of both pitchers-

Koji Uehara

Kenshin Kawakami

You can also check out Camden Depot for a rather thorough scouting report on Uehara, and NPB Tracker has this profile on Kawakami.

I’m really hoping deal with Fuentes does fall through, if for no other reason it will make draft day exceedingly lame without a first round pick. As for these two pitchers, give me Uehara.

Glad to see the Cardinals becoming more global in their efforts to unearth talent.

When healthy, Burnett is a fantastic pitcher, so I think in the short term he would greatly help. Long term, locking up a lot of dollars for the next five years on a 30 year old who has proven he cannot stay healthy, compounded with the loss of our first rounder, causes me to say “pass”.

Greene will be glad to get away from the Petco:

• Home OPS- .658
• Road-.802

At first blush I think this is a pretty decent move by Mo, I’d like to see who the players that were traded before I first before I judge. Two needs are now filled and there is still some money to play with, so that is good.

And hey, the last time the Pads traded us a shortstop, that worked out pretty well, right? Eh.

MLB.com has an interesting look at the Desert Walrus. John Vuch has some kind things to say about his defense.

“The thing we’re more impressed with is the fact that he’s been better than we expected defensively,” Vuch said. “He has an unusual throwing motion, but he has arm strength. He doesn’t look like your prototypical third baseman, but he has first-step quickness and his hands work. We knew he was going to hit, but the thing we’re pleased about is what he’s shown so far defensively.”

There’s also some interesting quotes from Vuch about Tyler Greene‘s newfound consistency and their plans Steve Hill’s defensive position.

Arizona

• Tyler Greene tripled, stole 2B and struck out.
• Steve Hill went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, but playing C he didn’t allow any stolen bases. Box.

Hawaii

• DHing, Arnoldi Cruz went 1-for-4 in what ended a 0-0 game. Box.

Dominican

• Amaury Marti went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk. Box.

Venezuela

• Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect 1-2-3 innings, getting a strikeout and two groud outs. Box.

So you be the GM. What prospect would you trade and who would you trade for? Who do you pursue in free agency? And what do you predict Mo will actually do?

For a point of reference, here is a listing of Type A/Type B free agents and a full listing of free agents.

I’ll give you my 2 cents in another post, AZ and Roarke can feel free to do the same. I’ll tell you one thing–I would stay far away from the free agent landmine that is Edgar Renteria.

Why the Cardinals won’t make a serious run for Peavy is left to the imagination.

It could be Peavy’s contract, which isn’t prohibitive, unless Cardinals management believes they’ve already tied up too much long-term money in deals with Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse.

It could be the unwillingness to part with the load of prospects that the Padres reportedly are seeking in exchange for Peavy.

Seems like Cardinals are less willing to deal off Rasmus +______+ ______ then I initially thought they might be for a pitcher of Peavy’s caliber. But considering that Peavy is such an injury risk, and is also signed for big $ and long-term, this is a wise non-move for Mo. Unfortunately, the loony birds who don’t know how to say anything but “cheap, cheap” are probably going to come out in full force, especially if he gets traded to a division rival.

Huzzah! First Inning is back!

Arizona Fall League

• Shane Robinson hit a two out RBI double for his only hit in five at bats. He struck out twice.
• Adam Ottavino pitched like a first round pick today. He threw three innings of scoreless ball, allowing four hits, no walks and struck out six. 31/51 of his pitches were thrown for strikes. Box.

Hawaii Winter Baseball

• Off day. Arnoldi Cruz is leading the league with a 1.112 OPS. James Rapoport is hitting .300/.397/.440.

Caribbean Cardinals

• The Mexican, Dominican and Venezuelan leagues are all taking a sabbath. MLB.com has team by team stat pages for participating winter ball players.