Once the Red Sox signed John Lackey, the idea of signing a rehab case or two to provide rotation depth lost some traction. As it stands now, the Red Sox have six starters.

One intriguing possibility was Justin Duchscherer. But he has returned to the Athletics on a one-year deal today according to the San Francisco Chronicle. There are still guys like Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard and Chien-Ming Wang out there but the Sox would have to get creative to squeeze them in.

The same is true of Jason Bay. Word spread yesterday that the Red Sox would still consider him. But as Nick Cafardo reported today, a lot would have to happen for that to be the case. Bay would have to accept a heavily backloaded deal and the Sox would have to extend their budget.

Once they signed Mike Cameron and John Lackey and lost the $3 million in savings from the Mike Lowell deal, the Red Sox had their budget space greatly reduced. They could still try and lure Bay (or even Matt Holiday), but it would have to be on their terms.

Bottom line: Bay had his chance with the Red Sox and passed on it.

(With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Fenway

Not a creature was stirring, but perhaps Jason Bay

The red socks were hung by the Monster seats with care

In hopes that John Henry soon would be there

The Pink Hats were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of Jacoby danced in their heads

And Heidi in her 'kerchief and TC in his cap

Had just settled in for a long winter's nap

When out on Landsdowne there arose such a clatter

I sprang from the press box to see what was the matter

Away to second, Ellsbury went in a flash

We're hoping that he and Cameron won't clash

 

The moon on the breast of the new hockey rink

Gave a luster of mid-day to old Charlie Zink

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But Theo the GM, bringing good cheer

 

More rapid than Yankees, his prospects they came

He whistled and shouted and called them by name

"Now , Kelly! Now, Reddick! Now Kalish and Tazawa!

On Rizzo! On Gibson! On Fuentes and Pichardo!

To the right field porch and the top of The Wall

You won't dash away to Hoyer, never at all."

 

Back to the playoffs, the players they flew

With Lester and Beckett and John Lackey, too

And then in a twinkling, I heard in the foyer

The prancing and pawing of Dustin Pedroia

 

As I drew in my head, and as turning around

Down the chimney Big Papi came with a bound

He was dressed in Ed Hardy, from his head to his foot

His records now tarnished by New York Times charges

A bundle of bats he had thrown in his pack

And promised his production soon would be back

 

Tito's eyes -- how they twinkled. Youk's beard, kind of scary

Drew's shoulder was sore, but Lowell was ready

Pap's droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow

The beards on their chins trimmed up by L'Monstro

 

The stump of a butt, Rem Dawg once held in his teeth

The smoke it encircled his head like a wreath

He quit, and here's hoping that still is the truth

Because, Jerry, we want you back in the booth

 

Dice-K was chubby and plump and was never himself

But be thankful at least that he's not Kei Igawa

A wink of Wake's eye and a twist of his wrist

Soon gave us to know we had nothing to dread

 

'Tek spoke not a word, but went straight to work

Helping Victor Martinez, 'cause he's not a jerk

Marco Scutaro was there, decked out in holly

Shortstop this season won't be so sorry

 

Bard sprang to the mound, his fastball did whistle

And away went the Sox, on a World Series mission

I heard Castiglione exclaim, as the ball flew out of sight

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

-----------

Yes, I know this is pretty lame. But hopefully you got a little chuckle out of it. Here's wishing you and your family the best for the holidays. Thanks for reading Extra Bases, we all appreciate it.

WEEI.com, citing a source, reported that the Red Sox may still have an interest in retaining Jason Bay.

If that is indeed the case, Mike Cameron would become an $8 million fourth outfielder and that seems pretty unlikely. Bringing Bay back would almost have to be the precursor to some other move.

UPDATE, 10:44 p.m.: A source told the Globe's Amalie Benjamin that the team is keeping an open mind about Bay, though it would certainly take some creativity with the current roster. The left fielder remains on the open market, with a reported four teams still interested, in addition to the Sox. The Mets have been the most aggressive team to date.

The Red Sox built in a "conditional club option" at the minimum salary for the 2015 season into John Lackey's contract to protect them in case Lackey gets hurt, according to salary information obtained by Boston.com.

Highlights of Lackey's $82,791,426 deal include an $18 million salary in 2010 followed by salaries of $15,250,000 from 2011-2014. The conditional option in 2015 would force Lackey to play for the major league minimum (currently $400,000) if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal.

Lackey also received a signing bonus of $3.5 million. For awards, Lackey receives $50,000 for All Star; $75,000 for LCS/MVP; $100,000 for World Series MVP; $50,000 for Gold Glove; $500,000 for MVP ($100,000 for finishing second through fifth). If he's traded he receives $500,000. He also can purchase six premium seats to all home games, including spring training and the playoffs. He also gets a suite on the road.

Kevin Youkilis has been selected as the 2009 winner of the Thomas A. Yawkey Memorial Award as Red Sox most valuable player in voting done by the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Youkilis hit .305 with 27 homers, 94 RBI and 99 runs scored. He finished second in the American League in on-base percentage (.413) and OPS (.961) and fifth in slugging (.548).

The Boston Chapter also announced that Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman has been selected as executive of the year.

Tickets for the January 14 dinner, to be held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, are available for $150 each by sending a check to Boston Chapter-BBWAA, PO Box 7346, Nashua NH, 03060.

------------

Meanwhile, Baseball America has released its list of the top 10 Red Sox prospects. You can see the story on their web site.

The top 10: Ryan Westmoreland, Casey Kelly, Josh Reddick, Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish, Junichi Tazawa, Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Iglesias, Derrik Gibson.

Today, of course, is Festivus. So if you have any grievances, feel free to air them here. This being the internet, that makes it pretty much like any other day.

Speaking of which, a lot of fans think the Red Sox still need some offense. It's easy to say they should trade for Adrian Gonzalez or sign Adrian Beltre. What's tougher is coming up with a more economical (and/or realistic) solution.

Here's the list of free-agent position players. So see what you can come up with. What about Mark DeRosa? He had 23 homers and 78 RBI last season (albeit with a .319 OBP) and played most of his games at third base.

For one year, it might be worth the gamble.

I try and read every story in the paper, if only because you might learn a little something. Take today's high school roundup, for instance.

Everybody knows by now that the Bruins and Flyers will play the NHL's Winter Classic at Fenway Park on Jan. 1. But that's only the tip of the - ahem - iceberg.

Globe correspondent Seth Lakso writes that Belmont Hill and St. Sebastian raised $20,000 to play a game on the hockey rink at Fenway on Jan. 5. They did it by selling tickets to alumni, family, students and faculty.

Yesterday, the first official game was played on the Fenway ice as Avon Old Farms beat Taft. Two parents ponied up $30,000 for the ice time. Later in the day, two teams from the New England Senior Hockey League played.

BC and BU are playing on Jan. 8. The Northeastern and UNH women will play earlier that day. The City of Boston also reserved the ice for public skates and handed out tickets at various community centers.

We can debate forever how best to assemble a baseball team. But there is no arguing what a good job the Sox have done improving Fenway and making it a destination for people all year long. That so many people will bundle up to watch hockey games on the infield over the next few weeks is a terrific thing.

They should have Christmas Card Day next fall. Charge people a $100 donation to the Jimmy Fund to pose their kids in front of The Wall for their Christmas card photos. You know 5,000 families would show up.

Lots of Red Sox-Yankees chatter on the blog today and much of it is reasonable, which is nice to see. Respectful debate is encouraged here.

So what's next?

The Red Sox, depending on your view, could use some offense in their lineup. The Yankees need a left fielder.

Which one of these scenarios is more likely?

* The Red Sox trade a raft of prospects to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez.

* The Yankees chuck their budget and sign Matt Holliday, Jason Bay or Johnny Damon.

* Neither. The Red Sox scrape up a first baseman (or third baseman) from somewhere and the Yankees go discount in LF with somebody like Mark DeRosa.

Doesn't it seem like there's still a big move to be made? There are still a lot of prominent free agents available and it's hard to envision the two AL East bullies sitting it out from now until spring training. Both teams also have chips to trade.

Baseball may pause a bit for the holidays, it usually does. But Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman aren't going on vacation any time soon.

You knew this was coming. Once the Red Sox signed John Lackey, there was no way the Yankees would go into next season with a rotation of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and two question marks.

The trigger was pulled last night when the Yankees obtained right-hander Javy Vazquez from the Braves.

In return for Vazquez and reliever Boone Logan, the Yankees sent the Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera, minor league lefty reliever Mike Dunn and Single-A pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino along with $500,000 Brian Cashman found under the couch in his office.

Cabrera is a decent outfielder who the Yankees have spent the better part of the last three seasons trying to replace. Dunn is a 24-year-old converted position player with a big arm and control problems. Vizcaino is probably the key to the deal for the Braves. He's a 19-year-old who struck out 52 in 42 innings last season and has much upside according to people within the Yankees organization.

Vazquez was 14-10, 4.91 for the Yankees in 2004 before being shipped to Arizona for Randy Johnson. He is 52-46, 4.52 while pitching in the American League. He's 2-7, 4.23 against the Red Sox in his career and has a 4.26 ERA in six starts at Fenway Park.

Now the Yankees will probably pick either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain to be their No. 5 starter and put the other in the bullpen. They also need a left fielder. Mark DeRosa could make sense unless Johnny Damon decides to lower his expectations.

Remember after the World Series when the Yankees made their annual promise to stick by a budget? Adding Vazquez gives them 15 players under contract for roughly $195 million. So whatever that budget is, it's north of $200 million again.

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell spoke to WEEI's Rob Bradford yesterday and offered details surrounding his thumb injury that ultimately led to the Rangers canceling a trade that would have sent Lowell to Texas in exchange for minor league catcher Max Ramirez.

"I was in constant and open communication about my thumb situation from the moment it happened to every week after," he said, pointing to a foul ball against Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers as the cause for what is now diagnosed as a strain of the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb. Lowell said that he was asked by the Red Sox to take an MRI on Dec. 7 after being put in a splint at the suggestion of Red Sox trainer Mike Reinold, who had visited Lowell in Miami on Nov. 25.

"I've had very open and honest communication with the training and medical staff," Lowell added. "The day this thing happened it was X-rayed and I told them about the pain, which was Oct. 2. That’s why I didn't play the other two games [in the regular season]. We taped it up in a way that we thought would help me in the postseason. They thought it might be a strain or a bone bruise. I don't want to lay blame on anybody because in '07 my other thumb got hurt and they thought it was a strain as well and it ended up being that way and everything settled down nice and easy. ...

"I understand the business. That first day was to make sure the medicals could be sent to other teams. I have no problem in them shopping me around. But I would have preferred to have the surgery in October once the season was officially over [if the extent of the injury was known]. I don't want to race to spring training."

Lowell went on to say that, at the end of the 2009 season, he didn't believe that the thumb injury would result in surgery but he disputed the Red Sox assertion that the injury wasn't discussed in the team's end of season exit interview.

Read more of Lowell's comments to Bradford here.

The AP collected the final 2009 payroll numbers. You can figure the payroll out in a number of ways. They go with the 40-man roster and include pro-rated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions.

Here's the list:

Yankees; $220,024,917
Mets: $142,229,759
Cubs: $141,632,703
Red Sox: $140,454,683
Tigers: $139,429,408
Phillies: $138,286,499
Dodgers: $131,507,197
Angels: $121,947,524
Astros: $108,059,086
White Sox: $105,287,384
Cardinals: $102,678,475
Mariners: $102,343,617
Braves: $100,078,591
Giants: $95,202,185
Brewers: $90,006,172
Rockies: $84,450,797
Blue Jays: $84,130,513
Royals: $81,917,563
Orioles: $79,308,066
Rangers: $77,208,810
Indians: $77,192,253
Diamondbacks: $73,800,852
Twins: $73,068,407
Reds: $72,693,206
Rays: $71,222,532
Nationals: $69,321,137
Athletics: $61,688,124
Pirates: $47,991,132
Padres: $43,210,258
Marlins: $37,532,482

The Yankees were the only team over the $162 million luxury tax threshold and have to pay a penalty of $22.69 million.

Good for the Yankees to be willing to spend so much. But something is wrong with a sport where one team can pay more money to players than four other teams combined. Something needs to be done to correct that imbalance and it probably needs to start with the teams refusing to spend money.

Meanwhile, the internet is chock full o' rumors that the Yankees are about to make a trade for a starter. No word yet who that is. Cue the: "We have get Adrian Gonzalez!" talk on the Boston airwaves tomorrow. 

The Red Sox announced their minor-league coaching staffs today. There were a few changes but the only new hire was that of George Lombard to be the hitting coach at Lowell.

Lombard, 34, retired as a player after spending 16 seasons in pro ball with seven organizations including the Red Sox from 2004-05. He played 144 games in the majors with the Braves, Tigers, Rays and Nationals.

Check out this feature story Chris Snow did on Lombard back in 2005. He's an interesting guy and by all accounts, has a bright future in baseball as a coach, manager or executive. Don't be surprised if he has a prominent role with the Sox within a few years.

Here are the minor-league staffs:

Pawtucket (Triple-A, International League): Torey Lovullo (manager), Rich Sauveur (pitching coach), Gerald Perry (hitting coach), Jon Jochim (trainer).

Portland (Double-A, Eastern League): Arnie Beyeler (manager), Bob Kipper (pitching coach), Dave Joppie (hitting coach), Paul Buchheit (trainer).

Salem (Single-A, Carolina League): Kevin Boles (manager), Dick Such (pitching coach), Carlos Febles (hitting coach), Brandon Henry (trainer).

Greenville (Single-A, South Atlantic League): Billy McMillon (manager), Kevin Walker (pitching coach), Luis Lopez (hitting coach), TBA (trainer).
 
Lowell (Single-A, New York-Penn League): Bruce Crabbe (manager), TBA (pitching coach), George Lombard (hitting coach), Dave Herrera (trainer).

Gulf Coast (Rookie, Gulf Coast League): Dave Tomlin (manager), Walter Miranda (pitching coach), U.L. Washington (hitting coach).

Just finished a chat that lasted roughly 75 minutes. Thanks to everybody who participated, there were a lot of good questions.

There were a few folks who posed questions that blamed agent Joe Urbon for Jason Bay not accepting an offer from the Red Sox. It's similar to some people in New York thinking that Johnny Damon was somehow misled by Scott Boras and really wanted to come back to the Yankees.

Be advised: The players are adults who make their own decisions. While it's easy (and even fun) to demonize agents, the agent works for the player. His job is to present the player with the opportunities that are available and let the player make a decision.

Damon didn't hire Boras because he wanted to make nice, clean deals with teams. He hired Scott because he wanted to wring every dime out of his athletic ability, which is certainly his right. And while Jason Bay may well have enjoyed his time in Boston, he seems intent on getting more than the $60 million the Sox offered. That's his call and good luck to him.

Jason Bay knew exactly what risks he was taking. Whether it works out well for him or not remains to be seen.

Our weekly Red Sox chat will be today at noon. So check back here at that time with your questions.

But in our continuing quest to help you waste time at work, check out this piece from Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports on why the Padres would be wise to wait until July before trading Adrian Gonzalez.

Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherington appeared on Sirius XM's MLB Home Plate channel today with Holden Kushner and Jim Duquette and talked about the Mike Lowell situation.

One of the questions he was asked was how the Rangers figured out that Lowell had a torn ligament in his right thumb and the Red Sox had not.

"I guess hindsight is 20/20 in these cases. When the initial injury happened he, nor our medical staff, really felt it was that serious. It was just one of those things where he got jammed a little bit, felt it a little bit during a BP swing. It was towards the end of the year, we were trying to get ready for the playoffs and so we didn't want to take any chances, give him some time off to get rested. And even at the end of the playoffs, in our exit physical, he barely made mention of it," Cherington said.

"Just one of those things as a player you get used to being a little dinged up at the end of the season. I think that's how he felt it. And then Mike, as many players do, sort of took his customary break after the season, let the body heal and then when he went to pick up a bat again recently as per his normal schedule he still felt a little bit in there and so wanted to get it checked out. And that's when he got it checked out.

"The good news is that the injury is on the outside of the thumb if you can imagine that, the radial collateral ligament is on the outside. It's a less significant spot for a hitter. It's just sort of a freak thing that you happen to injure this ligament swinging a bat but it's less significant, the recovery time is quicker so we're very optimistic that he'll be ready in spring training and ready to play on Opening Day."

So how do the Sox pick up the pieces now?

"Well, I think the main thing for us now is just to help Mike get healthy," Cherington said. "He's a good player, has been a good player and certainly a quality person. He's been a big part of our team for the last several years and the trade, as we talked to Texas, it wasn't about not wanting Mike Lowell. It was about possibly making a move to get a player we liked back and give us a little bit of financial flexibility to do some other things. And if it doesn't happen I think, again, the key for us is to help Mike get healthy.

"All the reports indicate that he should be 100 percent in spring training, let him go out there and play and he's either an important part of our team moving forward, a guy who obviously provides a good bat at third base so we have flexibility with (Kevin Youkilis) who can move between third and first. Mike's an excellent hitter, an excellent hitter at Fenway Park, and so he'll be an important part of our team and certainly if there's interest down the road we can consider that."

Interesting comments from Cherington, as it certainly appears the Red Sox would still look to move Lowell, perhaps even to the Rangers. If he shows in spring training that he can swing a bat, Lowell could be on the move again. Given the $9 million they were willing to dine on, the Sox appear motivated to get Lowell out of town.

Don't toss out that Mike Lowell jersey.

According to a major league source, the third baseman needs surgery on the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb and the trade to Texas that was agreed upon 11 days ago is off.

Lowell will have surgery after Christmas and is expected to need 6-8 weeks of recovery time. The hope is he will be ready for spring training. 

UPDATE, 12:19 a.m.: The return of Lowell presents an interesting dilemma for the Red Sox. These would seem to be the options.

Option A: Lowell plays third base.

Option B: Lowell plays first base with Kevin Youkilis moving to third.

Option C: Lowell becomes a right-handed DH and occasional infielder.

Option D: Lowell shows he can play in spring training, gets traded again.

Option E: Lowell gets released.

The interesting dynamic will be how Lowell handles returning to the Red Sox knowing that Theo Epstein was willing to trade him to Texas for a Triple-A catcher coming off a bad season. The general impression is that Lowell is a pro's pro, but how would you feel if your boss ran you out then took you back 11 days later because he had no choice?

This marks the third time in recent years that the Red Sox tried to take Lowell out of the mix. There were trade discussions with Colorado in 2006; the Sox tried to sign Mark Teixeira in 2008 and now we have the aborted trade to Texas. He's bound to be a little miffed.

Meanwhile, as the Sox approach MLB's payroll tax threshold, they no longer will realize the $3 million in savings that the trade would have meant. Epstein still needs to assemble a bench and add a few bullpen options.

Theo Epstein described free agency as a high-stakes game of musical chairs a few weeks ago. Suddenly the music stops and everybody is scrambling.

The Red Sox signed Mike Cameron. The Mariners traded for Milton Bradley. The Yankees made a deal with Nick Johnson to be their DH. Chairs are being filled.

According to Peter Gammons, the Red Sox offered Matt Holliday five years and $82.5 million. When he passed, they offered the same deal to John Lackey and he accepted. The Yankees did the same with Johnny Damon: they made him an offer and when he passed, they moved on.

The Angels took advantage of this situation last winter when they waited, waited and waited some more before signing Bobby Abreu for $5 million and getting a big season out of him. Could the Red Sox do the same this winter?

By the time the music starts up again, guys like Adrian Beltre, Miguel Tejada, Xavier Nady or Reed Johnson could be had for an acceptable cost.

Yes, Terry Francona likes Casey Kotchman. But he might like Tejada at third base and Kevin Youkilis at first base a whole lot more.

It seems like it took Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte less time to complete The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 than it has for the Red Sox to complete the trade of Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers.

But at long last, this saga could be coming to an end. Lowell is expected to have his physical this weekend. If he passes, the trade should be finalized. But that is not a given given the issues Lowell has with his right hip and right thumb. The Red Sox would get C/1B/DH Max Ramirez in return.

Ramirez has an .840 OPS and 13 homers in the Venezuelan Winter League.

It cost the United States $15 million for what amounted to parts of 14 states back in 1803. It will cost the Sox $9 million to send Lowell to Texas. The cost of doing business has gone up. 

Jason Varitek was barely on the ice for a few minutes, having been helped onto the surface by Ray Bourque. It was time for the ice to be cleared, the surface to be worked on, and Varitek (seemingly gratefully) made his way off of the ice.

But a skater sidled up to Varitek, and suggested that the pair could do a circle around the ice, even as everyone else was being removed.

"Only if you go with me," Varitek said to Bobby Orr.

With a hockey rink installed in the middle of Fenway Park, it made for a slightly bizarre scene. But there were Varitek and Orr, two athletes who have meant quite a bit to the city of Boston, skating together on a frigid day.

Varitek learned to skate when he was about three years old, growing up in Michigan. His family lived there until he was about seven, then moved to Florida. But the Sox catcher said skating was one of the first things he learned to do, though he hasn't exactly spent much time on skates lately.

Once he was off the ice, Varitek sat down with members of the Boston media for the first time since he exercised his $3 million player option to return to the Red Sox in 2010.

"I don't think it was much of a decision for me because it was part of what I set out to do," Varitek said. "It was so important to me a year ago, this time last year, to make sure that I [had] and opportunity to have a second year [on my contract]."

It was clear from his comments that Varitek understands his role in Boston, that he will be the backup catcher with Victor Martinez as the every day option. He went through the transition the second half of last season, and though he hasn't spoken much about it to manager Terry Francona, there is no confusion about what he'll do come next season.

"Just seeing it in a different role and seeing how my body adapts to maybe the less pounding, the less physical grind, that might be a good time for me to transition," Varitek said. "I'm preparing as I always do, to be able to handle as much as i can. So I'll prepare for a full-time role even though it's dictated in another way. That way if something happens, I'm ready to go.

"I don't think I'll change my pride in my work. I don't think that's going to change, just maybe the playing time is going to change. It's also some dynamics of flexibility. We have a pretty dynamic lineup [with] a lot of moving parts. Don't know exactly how that's all going to play out. Know that going into it that Vic's going to play the majoirty of the time. For me, I kind of got in that role last year, so I had two months to kind of get used to it."

Varitek renewed his commitment to work with Martinez, as he did at the end of last season, easing that transition. In that, and in other ways, Varitek said that he would be able to maintain his leadership role, maintain his place as Captain of the Sox.

And, given that C and given his history with the Sox, Varitek could easily be taking his spot as backup for granted. But, he said, he still needs to get to spring training just as prepared as any other season, just as ready to prove himself to a team that he's been with since the 1997 trade that brought him to Boston.

"You can reflect back when you're done," Varitek said, when asked to look back on his career. "I'm preparing to come out here and get in spring training, to make sure that I win myself a job and to make sure that I'm able to help this team win games. When I'm done and sitting on the couch and doing that full time, then I can probably reflect more. But I'm happy. I'm happy and always feel fortunate that I've been able to be here and have a career, period."

Asked if he was truly getting ready as if needs to win a job, Varitek said, "I don't think a decal makes a difference, an extra letter on a uniform. But, yeah, prepare myself that I'm going to go out there and be ready this spring and work my way into trying to play at a high level."

As usual, Varitek did not want to get into the injuries that clearly impacted his season, including a broken big toe, which he acknowledged this morning, and the bulging disk in his neck that was first reported by Tony Massarotti, in addition to shoulder problems.

He said that he's healthy now, and expects to be fine by spring training. He said a good portion of this offseason will be dedicated to getting him physically ready. He'll starting swinging a bat at the beginning of next month in preparation for the season.

One thing that Varitek doesn't have answers about is the end of his career. His contract only extends as far as the 2010 season. Perhaps retirement might be in the cards after that. Varitek will be turning 38 a week into the coming season, with a slowing bat and a reduced role.

"I don't really know," he said. "As far as when retirement is, I'm not really thinking about that. I'm thinking about preparing and physically getting ready and mentally getting ready for a season, healing up, getting healthy and getting strong and getting ready for the next one.

"You ask the first half of last season it's like I've got a long time left. Some things didn't go so well after. I have to gauge and adjust to a different role and see what I can do before I can really make that decision. My body's healthy and I'm able to compete at a level where I think that I can contribute. I don't know how long I'll play for."

Johnny Damon stayed with a team for four years, played a huge role in winning a World Series along the way and then left town because he wanted more money.

Sound familiar?

What happened to the Red Sox is about to happen to the Yankees. With the 36-year-old Damon reportedly demanding a three-year, $39 million deal, the Yankees are planning to instead sign Nick Johnson to be their DH. Johnson is said to be willing to take one year and $5.5 million. That will likely spell the end of Damon's tenure in pinstripes.

This is a setback for the Yankees. Damon was a perfect No. 2 hitter in their order and has a swing built for Yankee Stadium's Pony League right field. But at his age and with his sharply declining defensive skills, it's understandable why the Yankees didn't want to go to three years.

The Yankees, in essence, are  replacing Damon and Hideki Matsui with Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson.

Will they seek another bat? That's a question being asked in New York, just like it is in Boston.

As for Damon, it'll be interesting to see if Scott Boras gets him those three years.