The Daily Yankeeland - 12/11

Not so fast with the Mike Cameron to the Yankees deal. The deal is on hold, speculation being it has to do with the $10 million owed Cameron for the '09 season. There is also talk of Bill Hall and Kei Igawa being involved.

Joel Sherman and George King of The Post are reporting that Brian Cashman departed the winter meetings to meet with Andy Pettitte. The Yankees need to figure out if Pettitte is in their plans or not as they weigh how many free agent pitchers to sign.

In case you missed, Derek Jeter will participate in the WBC next spring. Oh, he will be playing for the U.S.. ;)

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Cameron Headed to the Bronx

The much-rumored Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera deal has been completed according to the Daily News' Mark Feinsand. Cameron put up his usual numbers for Milwaukee last season - .243, 25 home runs, 142 strike outs in 444 at-bats.

While Cameron is a definite upgrade over Melky and Brett Gardner, we don't love this move. The Yankees are hoping it's a one-year move, with Austin Jackson taking over in 2010, but we've seen how those expected/hoped-for moves have gone.

This is Cameron's second time in the Big Apple, having played for the Mets in 2004-5. He hit 30 home runs in his first season at Shea, but drove in just 76 runs and hit .231. He followed that up with a .273-12-39 campaign and was limited to 76 games. As usual,l he had more strikeouts than hits.

Melky's demise was rapid after showing plenty of promise, hitting .280 his rookie year in 2006, with 7 home runs and 50 RBI. After putting up similar numbers in 2007, Melky stopped hitting after April and was sent to the minors late in the season, pretty much sealing his fate with the Bombers. We still love ya Melky. Good luck in Brew Town!

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Cameron, Kotsay on the Move

We breathe a sigh of relief that Mike Cameron will not be a Yankee. Earlier tonight Cameron and the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a 1-year, $6+ million deal.

Meanwhile, Mark Kotsay is close to returning to the National League. According to a source the Braves are set to acquire the veteran outfielder for a prospect.

According to Ken Rosenthal, Kyle Lohse has backed off of his demands for a 4-year contract. K-Ros also says that the Dodgers, Phillies, and Brewers are showing interest in free agent Pedro Feliz.

The A's have signed Emil Brown, a veteran of Kansas City, to a 1 year deal. Meanwhile the Royals are taking a look at free agent Bartolo Colon. Buster Olney reported that the Mets were close to signing Colon last week, but didn't like the condition of his right arm.

As expected, Eddie Guardado signed a 1-year deal with the Rangers, while Matt Mantei grabbed a minor league deal with the Tigers.

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Rosenthal: Yankees Interested in Cameron

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Yankees have joined the Brewers in seriously pursuing free agent centerfielder Mike Cameron. It had been thought that the Yankees would not go after another centerfielder unless incumbent Melky Cabrera were to be dealt. Now there is some thought the Yankees could bring in a player like Cameron and then move Melky.

One of the people in support of bringing on Cameron, is Alex Rodriguez, who played with him in Seattle. (We're sure you can probably find a quote of A-Rod saying Cameron was his favorite teammate.)

The latter scenario really doesn't make a lot of sense. If the Yankees feel that Cameron will only be holding the position until Austin Jackson is ready for the leap to the majors, then why not just keep Melky? Cameron is 35 years old and while he still is a fine centerfielder, his bat leaves something to be desired.

A career .251 hitter, Cameron has struck out an average of 132 times over the last 4 seasons, and has 1,500 strikeouts in a 13 year career. He's also a .177 hitter in 79 career post-season at-bats. With Melky, we'll take a little of the unknown over the known (Cameron).

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Mike Cameron Hit 25 Game Ban

Mike Cameron wants it made clear that he has not used steroids. That being said he'll start out next season with a 25 game suspension after a 2nd offense for using a banned stimulant.

"The one thing I wanted to make sure was explained is, no steroids," Cameron told AM 1090, the Padres' flagship radio station. "I never took nothing like that before in my life. That would be 50 games, and that would affect me a whole lot more."

"After all of the analysis and testing, I can only conclude that a nutritional supplement I was taking was tainted," he said. "Unfortunately, the actual supplement is gone, and therefore cannot be tested. Without the actual supplement in hand, the rules are clear, and I must accept the suspension."

For Cameron, who is about to file for free agency, the timing couldn't be worse.

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