Sky falls: film at 11 

Posted 9:17 AM by Sean
Hey, Rob Neyer and I actually agree on something!

Me, on February 16:

However, the Yankees also dealt away Alfonso Soriano, who had 8.6 WSAA, and they've yet to announce who will replace him. If the Yankees field an "average" player at second this year, they'll lose all of those, reducing their net win gain to around two.

Neyer, yesterday:

Which is to say, I'm not arguing that Soriano is Rodriguez's equal. What I'm arguing is that the difference between them, right now, probably isn't large enough to justify the argument that the balance of power in the American League East took a big swing last week. The moment the Yankees and Rangers consummated their big trade, the Yankees improved by roughly two games.

Okay, so the math ain't all that hard.

Anyway, Neyer's conclusion, somewhat depressingly, is that the Yankees have enough money to keep spending like drunken Defense Secretaries for the foreseeable future. His forecast for next year's edition - basically, what they have now plus Mike Lowell and Carlos Beltran - is just plain grim. What frightens me is the prospect of a Moreno-Steinbrenner bidding war over someone. Although I can't think of anyone they'd both want right now (a starting pitcher, probably), it seems inevitable at some point.