There are a number of ways for the World Series champion Yankees to address their starting pitching.

One would be to sign a free agent such as right-hander John Lackey or trade for an ace such as Blue Jays righty Roy Halladay.

Another would be to strengthen the bullpen, allowing right-handers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain to return to the rotation.

The Yankees’ direction, at this early stage of the offseason, is not clear.

The team, according to one rival executive, plans to pursue free-agent relievers Rafael Soriano, a right-hander, and Mike Gonzalez, a lefty. The Yankees have liked both pitchers in the past.

However, another source with knowledge of the Yankees’ thinking says the team prefers to address any bullpen holes from within, using the same strategy that they employed successfully last season.

Signing relievers and using Hughes and Chamberlain in the rotation could be a short-term disaster…since Phil and Joba have yet to establish that they can be trusted starters. Since the two Yankees youngsters have proven, albeit in a small sample size, that they can do well in the pen, why not have them work in relief?

The following was sent to me via email yesterday by the folks at ACTA Sports -

What are the odds that a player will do better than he did the previous year? In the recently-released Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2010, baseball guru Bill James explains his new “Strong Seasons Leading Index,” a methodology that tries to round up as many indicators as possible and produce a list of hitters who are most likely—and least likely—to improve on their 2009 seasons.

“Age is the most obvious indicator of likely movement,” James says in his article. “We also know that players tend to move back to their historical norms, so we look at last year’s On-base Plus Slugging percentage compared to his career OPS. We also factor in a player’s batting average on balls in play, his strikeout-to-walk ratio, and his speed before distilling all this into a single number that indicates how likely a player is to have a strong season in the coming year.”

The article in its entirety is available here. James scores each player out of a possible 38 points. A score of 24 or higher indicates a better-than 50% chance the player will sustain or improve the following season; 23 points or less makes it increasingly unlikely the player will top last year’s numbers.

Here are the top 10 players most likely to sustain or improve in 2010, along with their Strong Seasons Leading Index score:

Player  	2010 Team  		Score
Dioner Navarro  Tampa Bay Rays  	26
Chris B. Young  Arizona Diamondbacks    25
J.J. Hardy  	Minnesota Twins  	25
Russell Martin  Los Angeles Dodgers  	24
Grady Sizemore  Cleveland Indians  	24
Dustin Pedroia  Boston Red Sox  	23
James Loney  	Los Angeles Dodgers  	23
Ian Kinsler  	Texas Rangers  		23
B.J. Upton  	Tampa Bay Rays  	23
Nate McLouth  	Atlanta Braves  	23

Here are the 10 players least likely to sustain or improve in 2010, along with their Strong Seasons Leading Index score:

Player  	2010 Team  		Score
Jorge Posada  	New York Yankees  	8
Matt Diaz  	Atlanta Braves  	9
Craig Counsell  Free Agent  		9
Russell Branyan Free Agent  		11
Jason Bartlett  Tampa Bay Rays  	11
Scott Podsednik Free Agent  		11
Derrek Lee  	Chicago Cubs  		11
Kendry Morales  LA Angels of Anaheim  	11
Ichiro Suzuki   Seattle Mariners  	11
Rajai Davis  	Oakland Athletics  	12

I’m reading The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2010 now and will have a review on it soon. But, in the interim, this is an interesting study. And, as a tease, I’ll also have a study coming out within the next few days on Posada and his future with the Yankees.

The Yankees denied a published report they have let teams know right fielder Nick Swisher is available.

According to a Yankees official, switch-hitting Swisher, who played a big part in the Yankees winning the AL East but struggled in the postseason, isn’t being shopped by the World Series winners.

USA Today writer Bob Nightengale wrote on his Twitter page today that “The Yankees, ever so quietly, are letting teams know that RF Nick Swisher is available.”

With Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, who combined for 52 homers this past season, free agents and their Yankees future uncertain, it would seem unlikely the team would entertain offers for Swisher before working through the free-agent process.

If Damon doesn’t return, the Yankees will need a left fielder. If Matsui comes back, he isn’t considered an outfielder.

And Swisher’s money isn’t offensive. Turning 29 next week, he will earn $6.75 million this coming season, $9 million in 2011. There is a $10.25 million club option for 2012 or a $1 million buyout.

That’s $16.75 million guaranteed for two more seasons, and if Swisher comes close to the 29 homers, 82 RBIs and .371 on-base percentage he produced this past season, he isn’t too expensive.

Plus, Swisher’s outsized personality is a big hit with Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman.

You know, shopping Swisher may not be a bad idea. There’s a part of me that suspects Nick is going to come into Spring Training next year about 20 pounds heavier than his already not fit weight of 2009. Why? Lots of partying this off-season…more so than usual for Swisher…given his new fame via being on the Yankees and them winning the World Series.

Maybe the Yankees are thinking the same thing here? Perhaps this is like when they moved Boomer Wells after the 1998 season?

Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, a non-tender candidate, told Taiwanese reporters Thursday that his first choice was to remain with New York. But if the Yankees cut him loose, Wang said he would not be opposed to going to the Dodgers.

“Not bad,” Wang said of the scenario presented by reporters that would have him going to Los Angeles. The two-time 19-game winner indicated that he would feel comfortable playing for a manager in Joe Torre who knows him well. Wang also went to middle school with Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo, and the two remain friends.

The Taiwanese media had been waiting to ask Wang about the Dodgers after the team’s coaching staff was quoted on the right-hander.

Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa, also a former Yankees coach, reportedly said if he were asked about possibility of Wang coming to L.A., he would definitely support signing him.

Most of Wang’s success came from pitching in the old Yankee Stadium. It probably makes sense for him to find a ballpark like that, in terms of having high grass and a somewhat neutral homer factor, if he is to come back from his injury. And, of course, there’s the Torre comfort factor for him in Los Angeles…

…that all said, I could see this type of move happening quickly if the Yankees cut Wang loose.

The Yankees recently called the Blue Jays to express interest in superstar pitcher Roy Halladay. And while the Yankees made the very same call last summer with no hope of acquiring Halladay, this time they have a real reason to believe they may actually have a legitimate chance to make a blockbuster trade.

If that’s a positive development for the World Series champs, the twist is that they might be battling the rival Red Sox for the star pitcher who’s well-known as a Yankee killer, as his 18-6 record against the Bronx Bombers attests.

Here is the most obvious reason the Yankees (or Red Sox) may now finally have a legit shot to trade for arguably baseball’s best pitcher: New Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos is making it clear he is genuinely willing to consider a deal with either the Yankees or Red Sox, a sharp contrast to Anthopoulos’ predecessor, J.P. Ricciardi, who had GMs convinced he’d never make a Halladay trade with either the Yankees or Red Sox.

Speaking generally about the concept of intra-division trades, Anthopoulos said by phone Tuesday, “This isn’t the NBA where you’re talking about one of five guys on the floor at all times … If you have two trades that are identical, and one is in the division and one is outside, then it’s easy to go outside the division. However, if the trade is better inside the division, I think you have to take a look at it. We have to do what’s best for our organization.”

Other GMs said they believe Anthopoulos also understands the Jays aren’t ready to overtake the Yankees or Red Sox yet and has the full faith of upper management, who appeared ready to fire Ricciardi even before he botched the Halladay trade talks by not finding a suitable trade partner when his value was highest. Of course, the possibility also remains that the Jays could still hold Halladay until the summer, when his value would still be close to what it is now.

Last summer the Yankees never felt the urgency to make an offer for Halladay because they never felt Ricciardi would trade him to Boston. Back in July, Toronto was also asking for both Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in a bigger package, and the Yankees never were going to do that. But with a year gone by now, the World Series winners might have a reasonable expectation that either Chamberlain or Hughes in a package might at least get the ball rolling. The Yankees also have several catching prospects to entice the Blue Jays, including Jesus Montero, who is still only 19 but is said by one scout to be “off the charts” as a hitting prospect and “better than he’s given credit for as a catcher.”

If Brian Cashman could turn Joba Chamberlain and some prospects who have yet to prove themselves over a full-season at Double-A (or above) into Roy Halladay…well…then…I might just be forced to display his mugshot on this blog with the caption “My Hero” underneath it…

If you could go back in time and change things so that Bobby Murcer wins the 1971 A.L. MVP Award or that Derek Jeter wins the 2006 A.L. MVP Award, which would you change?

It’s a tough one for me. The league MVP Award is just about the only award that Jeter hasn’t won in his career. So, it would be nice to see him add this one missing piece to his already awesome collection of hardware.

But, then again, it would have been great to see Murcer get an award like this – so that it would stand out like a beacon and draw some deserved attention to his very solid and underrated playing career.

While we’re on the topic, what other post-season award voting results would you like to revisit and change so that a member of the Yankees won the award?

Would you give Ron Guidry another Cy Young Award in 1985? How about some additional MVP Awards for Don Mattingly in 1984 and 1986? (Have to wonder if Donnie Baseball had won back-to-back-to-back MVPs if that would have changed his Cooperstown chances…)

In any event, for sure, it’s a shame that you don’t see “It Don’t Come Easy” broadcast all that much – if ever?

You would think that’s something that the YES Network could (and would want to) work into their scheduling.

The media has reared its hypocritical head again.

A large contingent of them has granted A-Rod a pardon while still portraying Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and other steroid users as pariahs. Undoubtedly, their forgiving hearts have been opened as a result of Rodriquez’s tightly scripted apology, ongoing outward contrition, and subsequent emergence as a wholesome public figure and seemingly selfless teammate.

Ostensibly obsessed with his legacy, Rodriquez has methodically plotted a course he hopes will end with him being voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame by the media when his playing days are done, moving ever so carefully since being outed.

Yet those unreceptive to A-Rod’s makeover objectively view him for what he is: a phenomenally gifted baseball player whose achievements have been forever tainted by his use of illegal performance enhancing drugs; including the amazing numbers he put up this past post-season in helping lead the Yankees to their 27th World Series title in which he batted .365 with 6 homers and 18 RBI.

Rodriguez’s transformation is immaterial to the fact that he should not be distinguished from any other transgressor simply because he has been on his best behavior since admitting using steroids. He no longer can be painted as the anti-Bonds, a role to which he was briefly elevated. Let’s not forget Rodriquez did not come forward voluntarily in an act of nobility. He got busted by a Sports Illustrated reporter.

You wouldn’t know this by reading and listening to revisionist historians who depict A-Rod’s return to glory as if were the story of Nelson Mandela. The subtext is the media’s collective ego will not allow them to move past their disdain for Bonds, McGwire and Clemens simply because these men dismiss the press and reject showing remorse.

So the media showers love on A-Rod as a gesture of reciprocal good will. However, even if Rodriquez maintains his current persona until the day of his retirement, the only way he should enter the Hall of Fame before Bonds, McGwire and Clemens, three players with unquestioned Hall credentials, is if he buys a ticket.

I don’t agree that Mark McGwire has “unquestioned Hall credentials.” But, Bonds and Clemens do…per most. And, they’ll probably get into Cooperstown before A-Rod. So, that’s sort of a moot point. But, it is interesting that many are quick to turn the page on Alex Rodriguez’ PED use – and not so quick to forgive Bonds and Clemens. I wonder why that is?

It very well could be that Bonds and Clemens are not working, all that much, with the media whereas A-Rod is a source for them now…

Manager		1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Scioscia 	15	10	1	106
Gardenhire 	6	12	6	72
Girardi 	4	3	5	34
Wakamatsu 	2	2	3	19
Washington 	1	1	11	19
Leyland 			2	2

I could see Gardenhire getting more votes than Girardi. But, Scioscia?

I like Scioscia – don’t get me wrong – but, was he really that much better than Girardi?

No Yankees coach except hitting instructor Kevin Long is signed for next year. And while the general feeling is that the rest of Joe Girardi’s staff is wanted back, none has been offered a contract for 2010.

“We are nowhere,” GM Brian Cashman said when asked where he was at concerning the 2010 staff. “We would love to have all of them back under the proper circumstances.”

Long signed a three-year deal for about $1.125 million before the 2008 season that expires after next year. The contracts of pitching coach Dave Eiland, third base coach Rob Thomson, bench coach Tony Pena, first base coach Mick Kelleher and bullpen coach Mike Harkey have expired.

Losing Tony Pena and Mick Kelleher would hurt – as they proved their value in the roles they had last season.

Mike Harkey is Joe Girardi’s buddy. So, I bet something gets worked out there, in time.

Dave Eiland? Well, that’s an interesting one…and it would not shock me if the Yankees did make a change there.