If I’m a Yankee fan the first thing that pops into my head when I read the title of this post is: hey, at least it’s not Carl Pavano.

That said, Carlos Zambrano a Yankee? Better yet, Carlos Zambrano in New York? Yeeee.

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News expects the Yankees to target Zambrano via trade at some point this offseason. After losing out on Cliff Lee, the Bombers obviously need to do something and after his midseason meltdown last year in Chicago, Big Z did pitch well down the stretch.

He would also be reunited with former Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who just joined the Yankees. But would Zambrano’s fiery temperament work in the Big Apple? And was his late-season success a sign that he’s returning to form or will his struggles from the first half rear their ugly heads again?

The Yankees have to do something because their current rotation just won’t do. They’re expecting to hear from Andy Pettitte soon about whether or not he’ll come back for one more year and if I’m Brian Cashman, I’m doing everything in my power to ensure he does.

But Carlos Zambrano? Talk about a risk/reward situation. He’s coming off a year in which his ERA (3.33) was good, but his WHIP (1.45) was bad. He also won 11 games but we’re talking about a man that was banished from the Cubs for nearly holding all of Wrigley Field hostage during a game (okay, so I may be exaggerating a little).

Him + NY probably = disaster, although at this point what are the Yankees going to do? The Red Sox have completely retooled and the one player they put all of their efforts into signing this offseason just took less money to play for the Phillies. The Cubs would probably give Zambrano away for a bottle of hand sanitizer and a new latrine for the bathrooms at Wrigley Field, so maybe the Yankees should make a move. At this point, they may not have much of a choice.