From the Yankees side, they could offer Jesus Montero to Seattle to make the deal more enticing. They’ve done so before when Lee and Roy Halladay were on the trade market. The Mariners also like Yankees Double A second baseman David Adams.  Baseball America ranked Adams 22nd among Yankees prospects heading into the season, and he sports a .309/.393/.507 line at Trenton.

If the Yankees brass pulls the trigger, it could be lights out for the AL East and baseball. The Yankees already have the best record in baseball and the second best ERA in the AL.

Non-waiver trade deadline ends July 31.

Teams will be shuffling players like a deck of old maid.

My gut feeling is that the Yankees will not trade for Cliff Lee. The Yankees need a bat to come off the bench.

I would trade this inconsistent fool for Cliff Lee in a blink of an eye. At least Lee is consistent and he is a gamer.

Burnett has given up six runs in just 3 innings pitched. He also gave up back-to-back jacks in the third inning to Ryan Howard and Jason Werth.

Burnett gave up four runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings in the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to the Orioles on Thursday. This is the worst team in baseball. The Yankees need to think about trading Burnett for a pitcher that’s consistent and who can eat up innings.

Bye-Bye Burnett! Like Ralph Kramden from the Honeymooners would say – “You are a bum!”

I am venting for every Yankee fan that feels the same way I do about AJ.

It’s not that far fetch that the Yankees could land Cliff Lee. They already have a solid rotation with CC Sabathia (6-3), AJ Burnett (6-4), Phil Hughes (9-1) and Andy Pettitte (8-1). Why would the Yankees pull the trigger for Lee? I can think of a few reasons;

1. Boston Red Sox will be interested
2. 9 million for an established successful pitcher who is light’s out in the playoffs
3. Yankees can afford him and have players to trade

Cliff Lee from extracting a king’s ransom is the plethora of other pitchers available at this deadline derby. None is quite like Lee, of course, and those in his neighborhood make more than his $9 million salary. In other words, he is the perfect mercenary and cheap according to Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports.

Come the July 31 trading deadline, Lee will be somewhere other than Seattle.

The Mariners have acquired some needed reinforcement in 2009 with the acquisitions of;

Cliff Lee (SP), Felix Hernandez (SP) – Resigned for 5 years, Chone Figgins (3B), Casey Kotchman (1B), and Franklin Gutierre (OF)

Other additions include; Erik Bedard, Ryan Garko, Eric Byrnes, and Brandon League. The Mariners are hoping to get production from these players.

The Mariners were also successful in dumping their overpaid pitcher, Carlos Silva.

Steve Henson writes – “The Mariners were outscored 692-640 last season, meaning their finish eight games above .500 was partially the product of good fortune. No one in their lineup is projected to hit 30 home runs. Second baseman and cleanup hitter Jose Lopez belted 25 last year and is due for a regression. Ichiro Suzuki and Figgins might become the best top-of-the-order duo in baseball, but they might be stranded quite often.”

The Mariners will be competitive as they have the best one-two punch in baseball with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, but after that, it’s all downhill.

Jack Zduriencik was busy in 2009 and made some great moves, but not as good as the moves Brian Cashman made in 2008.

Seattle Mariners Transactions – http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/sea/transactions

I can probably think of better deals, but a good deal is one that doesn’t come with a huge price tag for a young quality player. Are you still guessing? In my opinion the best deal happened on January 14 when the Florida Marlins signed Josh Johnson for $39MM over 4 years.

Josh Johnson gets $3.75 million this year, $7.75 million in 2011 and $13.75 million in each of the following two seasons. Josh Johnson is regarded as one of baseball’s best young pitchers, he made the All-Star team for the first time last year, when he had a career-best record of 15-5 with an ERA of 3.23 in 209 innings.

Josh eats innings and for any bullpen, that spells relief! Josh Johnson is young (26) on January 31.

You may disagree, but for the price and the fact it’s back loaded, it’s a bargain. The Florida Marlins are known for their off-the-wall fire sales. It’s nice to see them reach in their pockets for a change – no pun intended.

The only good day for Marlin fans is when Josh pitches, because after him they have Ricky Nolasco (13-9, 5.06ERA) and Andrew Miller (3-5, 4.84 ERA). It will be a long season for Marlin fans so sit back and watch the better teams play in Florida during spring training.

The Philadelphia Phillies seem strong in 2010 and will more than likely be the team to beat. I do see the Phillies back in the World Series, but I am still scratching my head over the Cliff Lee trade for Roy Halladay. I am sure we many Philly fanatics are feeling the same way, but you do have one of the best and most consistent pitchers in all of baseball.

Here are my predictions by division for the National League.

National League

East

Philadelphia Phillies (97-65) – With the addition of Roy Halladay and the Phillies are departure of Cliff Lee, the Phillies haven’t lost much in the pitching department and maybe are a little better. The offense is strong top to bottom. I see Philly back in the World Series and only the Cardinals can challenge them.

New York Mets (89-73) – I know this is a stretch, but this team had the injury bug in 2009. They have added Jason Bay for some needed offense. I know Mets fans were very disappointed this winter and expected much more activity. If they stay healthy, they could be a wild card contender.

Atlanta Braves (83-79) – Whatever happen to the mighty Braves? This was a team that was rich in pitching for many years. I am not sure if Derek Lowe is the answer because of his age (36) and his high 2009 ERA (4.67). They lost Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees and added Melky Cabrera to roam the outfield. This is still not enough to contend in the east.

Florida Marlins (80-82) – Not seeing much from the Marlins. They will not improve on their 2009 record of (87-75). They will struggle this year and may have attendance issues as well.

Washington Nationals (71-91) – They traded Nick Johnson to the Yankees and added some relief help, but it’s just not enough. They will improve over last year and with veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez can only help the pitching staff.

Central

St. Louis Cardinals (93-69) – They’re a lock to win the central with such a weak division. Pujols will once again be dominating and if they resign Matt Holliday, they should be the team to beat in the central.

Chicago Cubs (85-66) – The poor Cub fans will just be let down again for another year. The Milton Bradley deal didn’t do any good for the Cubs other than getting rid of a head case. Marlon Byrd will help, but they will need more of the same. Sorry Cub fans!

Milwaukee Brewers (79-83) – Prince Fielder will once again carry the team as much as he can, but the pitching has many question marks. Mike Cameron departure sure doesn’t help things and that’s why I see the Brewers worst off than 2009.

Cincinnati Reds (78-84) – The acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. who is a multi-position player that adds depth. The Reds have nothing this year to challenge for the division. They may win 80 games, but that’s about it.

Houston Astros (71-91) – Sell-Sell!!! Astros owner Drayton McLan was looking to sell the Astros, but that seems dead now and so does the Astros 2010 campaign. Put a fork in them, it’s over before it even started.

Pittsburgh Pirates (60-102) – At least Pittsburgh fans have their Steelers and Penguins. They will lose 100 games this year.

West

Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68) – Still the team to beat in the west, but the Rockies will breathe down their backs all year. Manny Ramirez will be the center of attention and who knows if Manny will be Manny this year. The offense is good with Matt Kemp, James Loney and Casey Blake.

Colorado Rockies (89-73) – The only hope is to get a wild card berth unless the Dodgers fall enough for the Rockies to contend. Todd Helton will need a big year to keep them competitive. They still need to add pitching depth before spring training starts.

San Francisco Giants (83-79) – Mark DeRosa certainly helps with offense and a player who can play 3B/RF/LF/1B/2B. The Giants will just break .500 in 2010 and for the fans, it will be a long season.

Arizona Diamondbacks (77-85) – They will be better than 2009 with the addition of Edwin Jackson, but not good enough.

San Diego Padres (76-86) – Not much to talk about and a very inactive winter for the Padres. They will be the cellar dwellers of the west.

What are your National League Predictions?