AL East

Wally Pipp is baseball’s answer to Rodney Dangerfield. And nearly 100 years past his prime, he’s still getting no respect.

The mention of Wally Pipp conjures visions of laziness and fake headaches and calling in sick.

As in, that guy “Pipped” out, he’s not coming to work. Or he’s pulling a “Wally,” translated loosely to mean he’s a coach potato, slacking off again. A sloth.

The Boston Red Sox are "serious" about Carl Crawford and are meeting both the outfielder and his representatives in Houston, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown.

While most early speculation has centered around Boston inking free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, Boston's attention seems to be focused on the younger, more athletic speedster from the division rival Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees battled the Tampa Bay Rays all season for the top record in the Majors. They lost out in the final days of the season, but still made it further in the playoffs than their division rivals. As expected, the Yankees swept the Justin Morneau-less Minnesota Twins, but their AL Championship Series performance was what was unexpected. They came back in Game 1 in Texas, but were rather lifeless the rest of the way.

Most of the hot stove rumors that have surrounded the Yankees have either involved Derek Jeter or Cliff Lee.

This past week, a new name circled the rumor mill, and to be truthful, it's a rather shocking one.

According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke would be willing to be traded to the Yankees if a possible trade would happen.

On top of this morning’s rumor that the Yankees are wary of Zack Greinke, there are a few other rumblings that I wanted to pass along.

Update: According to Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York, this NY Post report is not true, quoting a source that said, “Nothing’s happening there yet,” adding, “It sounds like a lot of BS being put out by the agent.”

Andy Pettitte gave the Yankee universe a scare early this winter when he told reporters that he was leaning toward retirement.

Another scare came after the Rangers had supposedly reached out toward the native Texan.

Now we get our first piece of good news.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause to pitch in New York, Yahoo Sports has reported.

The report comes as a bit of a shock considering Greinke’s past bouts with depression and social anxiety disorder, but while it would seem that the pressure and spotlight would exacerbate this condition, Greinke provides an interesting alternative for the Yankees to signing Cliff Lee.

Could this move really happen? Read on as we examine the possibility.

Over the course of the 2010 MLB season, when the conversation turned to the upcoming free agent market, little attention was paid to Derek Jeter.

The fates of Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee have inspired countless articles and debates, but few writers spilled ink on his pending free agency because it seemed unfathomable that the Yankees captain would ever play anywhere but New York.

Let’s get one thing clear, the Red Sox cannot find replacements for Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre, and improve offensively. Martinez batted .400 against lefties, Beltre was the best player on the team. Good luck finding that level of production on the trade market.

As far as replacing Victor Martinez, there is one thing everyone should remember: The Red Sox have Jarrod Saltalamacchia right now. It would not take much to be an improvement.