Oh please NO! Not the Plaxicator!!!

Please tell me this is Hank banging his desk like a petulant teenager and that Cashman is looking at Hal as if to say "Let's just placate him for now, but we won't really do this":

The [Yankees] official believes that the Yankees are "going hard" after Ramirez, to the point where they are willing to give him a three-year deal worth from $22 million to $25 million per year.

Two other officials are skeptical that the Bombers would commit three years to the enigmatic Ramirez, who has already seen the Dodgers make and withdraw a two-year, $45 million offer this winter.

One year for Manny, to scratch that itch, OK. I won't love it but for one year, I'll roll the dice and see if he can be that MVP guy in LA versus the "Plaxicator"* that he was in Boston. But three years? On THIS team? With this many 35 year olds who will need to have a day or two in the DH role? Good lord, no!!!! How many exclamation points can I use? In a league that is clearly moving towards faster, younger, more athletic, the Yanks would be going slower, older, immobile.

He can't play a lick of defense. We already have Damon and Matsui who are liabilities in LF/DH. Nady in right is fine. CF will be an issue. Posada might not be ready to catch 6 games a week but might be OK to hit (in the DH spot). And last I checked, Manny's a freakin' head case! He still is a tremendous hitter who would provide some protection and thump behind ARod, but c'mon.

I can't stress how much I'd hate the Yanks going to an absurd 3 year deal. There is NO COMPETITION for his services for a TWO YEAR deal? Why offer a THREE? Why am I banging the keys while typing, like it's going to make my point any better? Take this cash and use it as a downpayment on a Teix offer!

If Cashman and Hal truly have the reins/reigns (thank you, KLaw), Manny won't be a Yankee at all. If they placate Hank, I can see a 1 year deal. If Hank tries to overrule, all bets are off.

Now I am stomping my foot like that petulant teenager. Shoot me.

* Saw my neighbor while getting into my car this cold and snowy morning. He called Manny "another Plaxico". So I created the new terms: Plaxification and Plaxicator: To sandbag/the sandbagger of a team despite your immense, god-given talents.


UPDATE: From Buster's blog and I completely agree (Insider access required, sorry):

Here's something any executive thinking about signing Manny should consider before giving him a multiyear deal: If he gets a two-, three- or four-year deal, it probably will represent the last big-money contract he will receive -- and what exactly will compel him to play hard for the duration of the deal?

Once Manny signs his next big-money deal, the financial carrot that seemed to drive him in August and September will be gone, so an employer who gives him a multiyear deal will be wholly dependent on his competitive integrity.

Good luck with that.