While we've all been able to sit back and laugh at the Yankee's misfortunes this offseason, there's an uneasy feeling that they're going to find a way to retaliate. And the Yankees don't do anything small. Their biggest (only?) weakness is their rotation, and they're not going to just sit back and hope the Bartolo Colon's of the world carry them into the playoffs. Cashman is going to try to fill that hole with a certifiable Ace.
But for now we can all breathe easy. Francisco Liriano may end up in pinstripes one day, but you won't see King Felix pitching for New York anytime soon.
Teams call Seattle asking about a trade, just in case they have a brain cramp or something. But the answer remains the same.
"He's not going anywhere,'' Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "We've got him. We'll keep him. We're not going to move him.''
"We're trying to build this thing,'' Zduriencik said. "We've got some young prospects with exciting ability. We're hoping to get to that next level. So why would we entertain trading him? Every club in baseball has to have that No. 1 (pitcher). We've got that No. 1. So why would we move him?''
It just doesn't make any sense for the Mariners to jettison Hernandez. Seattle isn't New York, but it's not Kansas City either. If you can't build a team around a young, stellar Cy Young winning pitcher like Felix, then get new blood in to run your team. Don't move him in another fire sale.
Zduriencik admitted that he had some conversations over the winter with the Yankees about Hernandez, but they didn't go anywhere.
If Seattle gets off to another slow start, you can expect Cashman to start stalking Zduriencik once again, dangling everything from Montero to Phil Hughes to a crate of Bernie Williams CDs. But as Zduriencik says, "It would be foolish to move [Hernandez]."
Hopefully this is the last we hear about this for a while. Because I really don't want to type Zduriencik anymore. Oh, and Felix in New York is about as terrifying a scenario as I can imagine. But really, that's an awful name to type. Win-Win.
