Manny Ramirez dropped off the face of the MLB planet last year but he’s still somewhat newsworthy – especially when the Yankees are interested.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees have had internal discussions about signing Man-Ram. The club is looking for a right-handed bat to add to their bench, although even Curry admits that a deal with Ramirez is unlikely. He’s a poor defensive outfielder and even at his age, it’s doubtful he’ll want to come off the bench. The Bombers already have a DH in Jorge Posada, so he wouldn’t be a fit there either.

The Bombers are pretty set in the outfield with Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. They still need to add a starting pitcher (or three), but leave it to the Yanks to try and acquire as many bats as possible. If their pitching is as bad as it current looks on paper, they’ll need as much offense as possible.

Assuming Ramirez doesn’t sign with NY, he could land with the Rays, who are interested in signing the 38-year-old.

If SI.com’s Jon Heyman’s report is true, then the Yankees’ offer for shortstop Derek Jeter is more than reasonable.

According to Heyman, the Yankees are on the verge of offering their captain a three-year, $45 million contract. Jeter is reportedly looking for at least a four-year deal, but given his age and declining skills, it’s hard to argue with whether or not the Yankees’ offer is fair.

Jeter means more to the Yankees than what he does on the field, but it’s not as if the Bombers are low-balling him here. He’s no longer a strong defensive shortstop and he’s coming off a year in which he batted .270 over 663 at bats. He posted career numbers in 2009 but nobody expected him to repeat that effort in 2010, which he didn’t.

In some respects, the Yankees have to overpay. Again, his contributions to the organization run deeper than his stat line and New York has to be willing to fork over a little more than Jeter would probably get on the open market. It’s about showing respect to the player that helped lead them to five World Series titles over the past two decades.

But let’s get real here. Jeter wouldn’t get three years and $45 million on the open market – not at 36. It’s up to his agent to get the best deal possible and Jeter’s camp may wind up asking for more, but the Yankees’ current deal is certainly fair for all parties involved.

Here’s a shock: The Yankees aren’t interested in a couple of high-priced free agents.

According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the Yankees aren’t expected to pursue Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth this offseason. As Feinsand writes, the Bombers already have Brett Gardner (who is coming off a breakout year), Nick Swisher (who was solid) and Curtis Granderson (whom the Yankees traded for last offseason). So unless they parted with one of those guys, where would Crawford or Werth fit in?

Of course, these are the Yankees we’re talking about. They want Cliff Lee and will probably stop at nothing to lure him to the Big Apple. But if they miss out on him, does anyone actually believe they wouldn’t pursue another big name? There’s no way. The Yankees don’t hunt through the bargain bins, either – they go top shelf.

I’m not a big fan of Werth, but he would be perfect for the Yankees because they play in a kiddies’ park just like the Phillies do. Werth’s power numbers wouldn’t drop playing at Yankee Stadium like they would if he went to San Francisco. (I’m not saying the Giants are interested; just using their park as an example.)

If I were to make a guess, I think either Werth or Crawford wind up in Boston. The Red Sox are willing to spend and they need to upgrade their outfield. That said, Werth isn’t a lefty so I’m wondering how his power numbers would translate with the “Green Monster” out in left field.

When the news sprawled across my computer screen last Friday, I couldn’t help but say aloud, “Right on time, Yankees.” (And yes, I like to talk to myself.)

By the middle of last week, the Rangers had emerged as the favorites to acquire left-hander Cliff Lee from the Mariners. The sticking point in the deal appeared to be whether or not Texas would part with top prospect Justin Smoak, whom Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik coveted.

Either way, it seemed as though the Rangers were way out in front in the race for Lee. That was, of course, until the Yankees got involved.

Reports surfaced early Friday morning that Brian Cashman and the Yanks were on the verge of acquiring Lee. They were prepared to give up their top prospect, Jesus Montero, but the two sides couldn’t agree on whom the second player in the deal would be and the Rangers wound up getting Lee anyway.

But if history is any indication, Lee won’t be in Texas for very long. His contract is up at the end of the year and we all know Cashman does his best work at the negotiating table. (Not that throwing millions of dollars at a player with reckless abandon in attempts to sign him is difficult.)

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Photo from fOTOGLIF

Joe Girardi is a World Series-winning manager and apparently, also a good samaritan to boot.

From MLB.com:

On his way home from winning the World Series with a 7-3 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night, Girardi stopped to help a woman who had lost control of her car on the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester, N.Y., and crashed into a wall, according to The Journal News (Westchester County, N.Y.).

The driver was stunned by the accident, but otherwise uninjured, police told the publication.

“The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help,” Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano, who was among the first to arrive at the accident scene, told The Journal News. “It was totally surreal.”

It’s not like Girardi pulled the woman out of a burning vehicle or anything, but we don’t hear enough good stories like this that surround sports figures. This is a nice story and it shines light on the fact that there are many sports figures out there that do some good for society.

Well done, Joe.

The New York Post reports that should the Yankees advance to the ALCS, they are leaning toward using Chad Gaudin rather than Job Chamberlain to be their Game 4 starter. Chamberlain would then remain in the bullpen.

The Yankees would not finalize plans unless they beat Minnesota. But in informal planning sessions there is a growing consensus to keep Chamberlain in the pen throughout the playoffs.

That reflects how precious each win is in the postseason, and that Chamberlain could be used in nearly every winnable game as part of a late-game lockdown trio with Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera. But it also has to do with the Yankees’ internal belief that Gaudin outperformed Chamberlain as a starter down the stretch.

The Yankees were 6-0 in Gaudin’s starts and he had a 3.19 ERA. Chamberlain had a 7.75 ERA in his final 10 starts with a .324 batting average against. Chamberlain’s lone strong start in that period was a six-inning, three-run effort against Boston. So, if the Yankees and Red Sox met in the ALCS, the Yankees might reconsider. But even under that scenario the sentiment is to start Gaudin.

This makes sense. Joba could essentially make an impact in every close game the Yankees play in, rather than just six or seven innings of one start. And with the Bombers’ record in Gaudin’s starts being 6-0, they have the opportunity to keep Joba in the pen and not sacrifice their starting pitching.

The Yankees are always dangerous because of their offense, but this marks a different season because they now have the pitching to make a World Series run.

Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for the Yankees’ hit record with a single in the seventh inning of New York’s 4-2 victory over the Rays on Wednesday night.

From MLB.com:

“You look at all the great players that have played in this organization throughout the years,” Jeter said. “To say that you have more hits than them or at least tied for the most hits in the history of the organization is definitely hard to believe. It means a lot.”

The way in which it happened was typical Jeter. Swinging at an outside pitch, the first he saw in a seventh-inning at-bat against the Rays on Wednesday, Jeter laced Jeff Niemann’s offering down the first-base line past a diving Chris Richard.

Then he stood on the bag and doffed his helmet twice, as the Rays climbed to the top step of the visiting dugout and 45,848 fans roared their approval of Jeter’s 2,721st career hit.

“It’s mind-boggling,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “You think about what Derek has done his whole career, how great he has been for such a long time and what he has meant to the organization, and you put his name next to Lou Gehrig. It’s amazing.”

Even if you hate the Yankees, you have to appreciate what Jeter has accomplished in his career, especially while playing in the steroid era. His better days are definitely behind him (most notably on defense), but he continues to go out every night and play like it’s his last game.

Jeter is one of the finest baseball players ever to play the game and a true role model for how hard work and determination pays off. He also respects former players and takes pride in joining them in the record books.

…okay, so Pabelpon didn’t really say that he wants to be a Yankee. I just threw out that headline to suck readers into the story. It’s called the old bait-and-switch (actually, it’s not called anything – I made that up too) and scumbag bloggers have been using the tactic for years. I promise I won’t do it again…today.

Here’s what Papelbon really said in relation to possibly joining the Bronx Bomers one day:

In an appearance on Sirius XM Radio, Jonathan Papelbon told Jody McDonald and Bert Blyleven that he would consider playing for the Yankees once his Boston career is over:

“Oh, of course. I mean, I think if we can’t come to an agreement on terms here in a Red Sox uniform, I mean I think that’s pretty much the writing on the wall.”

Papelbon says he’d consider joining other teams, too:

“Not only the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility. You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can’t just be one-sided and think that, “Oh, I’m going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career” because nowadays that is very, very rare and hopefully we can because there’s no question I would love to stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform but I have to do what’s best for me and play in an atmosphere where I’m wanted.”

Even the mere suggestion of a BoSox player possibly joining the Evil Empire is enough to get Boston fans to throw up their cereal, but Papelbon is just being realistic. He’s leaving his options open down the road and while there once was a time when no Boston player would ever dream suiting up in pinstripes, Johnny Damon proved that money and opportunity talk louder these days.

Remember though, Papelbon is under contract with Boston through 2011, so he’s still a couple years away from being able to test the market.

From Ken Davidoff at Newsday:

As the Angels distanced themselves from Sabathia, leaving the Yankees poised to land their top target, the Braves moved closer toward signing Burnett, another item on the Yankees’ radar.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins, meanwhile, told MLB.com late Tuesday that his top free-agent target remained Mark Teixeira, rather than Sabathia. Reagins said there was “nothing to” reports that the Angels, who clearly need offense more than they need pitching, were shifting their focus from Teixeira to Sabathia.

With none of the other West Coast teams expressing much interest, Sabathia is left with the Yankees’ offer of six years and about $140 million and the Brewers’ offer of five years and $100 million. As much as Sabathia prefers the NL, he probably doesn’t prefer it enough to leave $40 million on the table.

If they can sign Sabathia, the Yankees will be all but out of the running for Teixeira, and probably Manny Ramirez, as well. They’ll try to land Lowe while continuing their attempt to bring back Andy Pettitte at a pay cut.

I’m still of the mind that one of the California teams – Angels, Dodgers, Giants – will make a big move for Sabathia and he’ll wind up in his hometown state. He wants to play in his hometown state, he wants to hit and if one of those teams are willing to give him a fair deal, than he’ll likely jump. If he’s all about the money, than the Yankees are his only option because they’re going to come up with the green in the end.