All Things Bubba

Well, if anyone's wondering, the pumpkin bars were a huge hit. Everyone was raving about them and asking for the recipe. Usually, there's so much food at our holiday food fests that there's always leftovers of everything. Not the pumpkin bars. They were scarfed down so fast I didn't even get a piece. Guess I'll have to make them again sometime, just so I can try them.

The Santana trade talk is definitely heating up. From Jayson Stark:

Elsewhere on the Santana front, a tug-of-war could be looming between Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Principal Son Hank Steinbrenner over Santana.

It's clear that since talks broke down, many of the Yankees' baseball people have had second thoughts about including Phil Hughes in any package for Santana -- which effectively would obliterate any chance of that deal happening.

But according to one baseball man who has spoken to the Yankees' brass, Steinbrenner is "moving towards it." And if he moves any further toward doing that deal, he could find himself in a fascinating debate with Cashman and others over whether to pull this very large trigger. If that happens, why do we think it might not be the last debate Cashman has with Hank Steinbrenner?

And as the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox jockey for prime Santana position, the rest of the sport watches from afar, trying to handicap where this will lead. One AL executive still thinks it will eventually lead Santana to the Bronx.

"The Twins are doing the right thing, waiting for the right deal," he said. "But the Red Sox don't need to panic. They don't need him. There's no reason for them to get anxious. But the Yankees actually do need him. They're just trying to convince themselves they don't."

And from Jon Heyman:

The Johan Santana Sweepstakes are likely to come down to whether new Yankees boss Hank Steinbrenner is willing to overrule GM Brian Cashman again. Steinbrenner wants to go for Santana, Cashman doesn't (at least not at the cost of Phil Hughes).

Word is that Steinbrenner the Younger would like to back Cashman, especially after disregarding the GM on whether to hold firm at three years for Jorge Posada and no years for Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod opted out. However, some executives around the league are predicting that Steinbrenner will ignore Cashman's advice to keep Hughes and save the $23 million a year or so, and that the Yankees will eventually land Santana.

The package would be expected to include center fielder Melky Cabrera, pitching prospect Jeff Marquez and another prospect in addition to Hughes. The Red Sox and Mets remain in the bidding and can't be counted out. But the Twins appear to be waiting for someone to bend, and the short history suggests that Junior Steinbrenner is the most likely to do so.

Interesting and a little unsettling. It sounds like the Yankees are a house divided. Not exactly a surprise, but the idea of Brian Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner being constantly at odds is depressing. While I wouldn't be against trading for Santana - he's still young, he's a game-changer, and the Yankees need starting pitching - I hope the Yanks don't fall back in the habit of trading all their prospects for big name stars.

Especially interesting is the bit about Cashman not wanting to sign A-Rod after he opted out, and wanting to sign Posada to only three years instead of four. And being overridden by Hank both times.

There's been some talk about Cashman wanting to cut payroll because he feels he gets no respect as a GM. The Yankees can buy any player they want, so he doesn't get credit for building a winning team like other GMs do.

If that's true, then it's all about his own ego. Why should the Yanks cut payroll, when they can afford not to? Just so he can hold his head up among his fellow GMs?

OTOH...collecting all-stars has some obvious drawbacks. It hasn't been a notably successful strategy for the Yankees, at least when it comes to winning the World Series. So perhaps it's worth trying to do it Cashman's way, whatever his reasons.

Doesn't look like Hank's going to allow that, though.

And if you haven't finished your Christmas shopping...how about some ballpark jewelry? Bracelets, necklaces, cufflinks, earrings, even pens and bottle openers made from materials salvaged from the seats at actual major league stadiums. Here's the Yankee Stadium bracelet:

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...
How cool. Especially since 2008 is the last year for Yankee Stadium as we know it. The Stadium will be gone, but you'll have a piece of it to keep forever.