WHY NOT ROY OSWALT?

There is this new attitude among the Yankee brass that lowering the payroll tax below the $189 luxury tax threshold by 2014 is important. OK, I'm on board...I get it, but what's to say we can't pick up a pitcher for 1 year at a reasonable price? It's just support, it's clearly not to sign a veteran for 5 years, right?Hell, they did it last year with Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, and while I really wanted a big time number 2 or 3 starter this winter, I understand what we're doing. That being said, Roy Oswalt fits that mold.

Oswalt originally wanted a multi-year deal, but with the bad back issues that the Yankees are so "worried" about, I guess he changed his mind. It turns out he would accept a 1 year deal. The Yankees, who want to save every penny, just got back their $2 million from the Hiroyuki Nakajima "exclusive rights" bidding because that negotiation fell apart so, if we're going to count pennies anyway, that's $2 mil more in the pot.Yes, we still need to lock in Eric Chavez, who has a bad back too mind you, but you can't possibly tell me the Yankees are willing to take a chance on guys like Chavez and Garcia again and not Roy Oswalt, are you? AJ Burnett had a history of injury before he came to New York, yet we threw over $82 million at him. I'm sure they're kicking themselves for that, especially if you force it into this scenario. The point is, why NOT Roy Oswalt at this point? It's clearly a support move, just another arm and just until the Yankees can go big on guys like Matt Cain and Cole Hamels.

Then again, if we're going the Oswalt route, who by the way, would demand more than someone like Hiroki Kuroda (read Ken Davidoff HERE), then why not just lock the old man Kuroda in? Sure, I'm not totally jazzed about any of this, but staying put and rolling the dice on our rotation now is definitely taking a chance. If you believe in your pitchers Cashman, that's fine, I believe in my Yankees too, but there is nothing wrong with throwing in alittle competition among peers come Spring Training to really see the talent come out. That's all I'm saying. It may be Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia all over again... that is, until we go after Hamels.

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