New York Yankees

Next week will begin the annual General Managers meetings in Indianapolis. Many expect the free agency period to really get into motion once those meetings take place.

Yankees' GM Brian Cashman has a lot of decisions to make as far as the 2010 roster, which will be looking to defend their World Series.

Everyone has been talking lately of the rumors of the Yankees making a trade to get Blue Jays' starting pitcher Roy Halladay to add to the staff that already includes CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

This article was originally published in the November issue of my school's newspaper. It discusses how a Yankee game led to bonding on the Shabbaton, our school-wide overnight trip.

Top of the ninth. Bases loaded. Three balls. Two Strikes. Two outs. Down one run.

MLB Trade Rumors has reported  that the New York Yankees are interested in former Boston Red Sox reliever Brandon Lyon.

The year was 1967. The columnist was Leonard Koppett. The topic was trading a player for "a player or players to be named later."

Waiver Deals

In 1967, June 15 was the trading deadline. After that date, only waiver deals could be made.

In a waiver trade, each team is given the chance, based on reverse order of won-lost record, to buy a player's contract.

The major purpose of the procedure was to prevent wealthy teams vying for the pennant from raiding teams that were out of contention.

The arbitration deadline is midnight, so every team has to decide which players it will offer arbitration to and which it won't. It is an interesting day because it hints at what the team's offseason plans are.

I touched on this back in October but have since changed my mind. I predicted that the Yankees would offer Andy Pettitte arbitration, but not Johnny Damon.

Alex Rodriguez has finally played a significant role in helping his team win the World Series.

Until this season, many in the media fostered the belief that Alex Rodriguez was the major reason the Yankees had not been World Champions since 2000, which is patently false.

Solid Pitching Wins the World Series

The Yankees beat the Mets in the 2000 World Series because they had solid pitching.

The New York Yankees have enjoyed their 27th World Series championship for about a month now, so let’s look back on how they did it.

Spending more on payroll in 2009 than the gross domestic product of more than a dozen countries worldwide will give you a fighting chance in most Octobers.

Did the Yankees break the rules or do anything unethical? No.

Are they playing on an uneven playing field that prevents other teams from acquiring the type of talent that the Yankees can accumulate? Yes.

Alex Rodriguez is one of sports' most talked about icons. A man hated and loved by millions. Red Sox fans loved him during trade talks until he became a Yankee. Yankee fans hated him for becoming Yankee. New York is the toughest place to play sports—has been and always will be. It's Gotham. It's one of the world's most famous locations ever. If you think playing in New York is easy, ask Carl Pavano, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Stephon Marbury, or Mark Sanchez.

Major League Baseball's offseason is famous for its high-priced free agent signings and blockbuster trades.

General managers are on the phone 24/7 trying to put together the perfect roster for the upcoming season.

However, the New York Yankees have one glaring issue that needs a solution.

Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain both burst onto the scene in 2007.