The New York Post is reporting that the New York Yankees will pursue free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez and first basemen Mark Teixeira.

“If they can’t get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny,” an official with knowledge of the Yankees’ plan said yesterday.

The attention being paid to bolster the lineup that lost Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi doesn’t mean the Yankees are out of the pitching business. They remain engaged with Andy Pettitte, Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets. Eventually, the Yankees believe Pettitte will take their $10 million offer.

Only fools count out the Yankees when it comes to free agents. Nevertheless, Teixeira has eight-year offers for $160 million from the Angels and Nationals. The Red Sox are wary of eight years but aren’t shy of six for $150. Having already spent $243.5 million for CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees may not want to go that high (or for that many years) for Teixeira.

If they pass on Teixeira, the Yankees will try and bolster a sagging lineup with Ramirez, one of the greatest run producers in baseball history. And to clear some money, they might entertain offers for outfielder Xavier Nady, who made $3.35 million last year, is arbitration eligible and a free agent after the 2009 season.

I wouldn’t doubt the Yankees landing any top free agent, but I don’t think Teixeira will be playing in pinstripes next year. I think they entered the Teixeira-talks to drive up the price for Boston.

Manny, on the other hand, is a different story. I think he’s pissed that he wasn’t offered a contract yet and will jump at the chance to join the Evil Empire so he can stick it to teams – especially the Red Sox.

The New York Yankees declined to offer outfielder Bobby Abreu arbitration.

The Yankees have declined to offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Ivan Rodriguez, Sidney Ponson, Carl Pavano and Chad Moeller.

We imagine the Red Sox and Rays are plenty pleased to see that the Yankees won’t be getting any extra draft picks next year. Having Abreu back for about $16 million wouldn’t have been such a bad thing for the Yankees, and odds are that he would have left and brought back two picks. Now the Yankees are facing the possibility of not having their regular first-round pick or any supplemental first-round picks. They will have the 29th pick in the draft after not signing their first-round pick from 2008.

The Yankees could do way worse than Abreu for $16 million a year. Maybe the Cubs will take a look at him to protect Derrek Lee in the lineup.

FOX Sports.com has 10 burning questions for baseball’s offseason.

5 Can Milwaukee hang on to CC Sabathia?
The Brewers are already facing the loss of Ben Sheets, so they’ll probably need to bring Sabathia back if they hope to win the tough NL Central. Obviously, the Brewers don’t have the resources to hang with the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Red Sox should those teams enter the bidding. But Sabathia loves hitting, and he enjoyed his time in Milwaukee…

4 Where will Manny Ramirez wind up?
This past season, Manny Ramirez hit .332 AVG/.430 OBP/.601 SLG with 37 bombs. Obviously, that’s an elite level of production. On the other hand, Manny is 36 and an ongoing disaster in the outfield. He’s going to command a big contract, but it’s not certain how big and with whom. Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, is angling for a five- or six-year deal, but that’s probably not going to happen. The Dodgers will certainly push to bring him back, and the Blue Jays may be a surprise bidder…

3 How will the Yankees spend those dollars?
The Yankees’ 14-year playoff run came to an end, and that likely means a frantic winter in the Bronx. They’ve got a good bit of money coming off the payroll, and of course they’ll be moving into a palatial new ballpark next season. So expect them to spend with impunity. They’ll likely pass on their option on Jason Giambi, which means they could be in the mix for Mark Teixeira. They’ll certainly be angling for CC Sabathia, and they’ve also got decisions to make on Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte…

1 Who will be the Phillies’ GM next season?
Fresh off the third World Series title of his career, Phillies GM Pat Gillick may be bound for retirement (and, eventually, the Hall of Fame). If he goes, then in all likelihood the job will fall to either Ruben Amaro Jr. or Mike Arbuckle, two longtime Philly lieutenants. Or will Gillick have a change of heart and come back to defend his championship?…

I’ll go ahead and answer the above questions for FOX:

CC Sabathia to the Yankees.

Manny Ramirez to the Yankees.

Yankees will overspend the Yankees dollars.

The Yankees will be the Phillies’ GM next season.

This is when the baseball season is really interesting—while no games are happening and speculation flies around about who will be changing uniforms and shifting the balance of the sport’s power. It sure beats watching a nine-inning game that goes on for four hours or more.

So the two big names that are free agents and will be courted heavily are CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez. Forget the fact that commissioner Bud Selig cautioned teams about forking over too much money in a slow economy. Those two guys are going to rake in the cabbage either way, because teams will bid for them at ridiculous numbers. So far, the Brewers, Yankees and Angels seem to be the first in line to make a run at CC, and Manny’s agent, Scott Boras, had a 90 minute conversation with Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti on Tuesday, but that pretty much means nothing. Still, the Dodgers owe their fans an offer to Ramirez, even if Boras is looking for a 5-6 year offer.

On the trading block, would you believe Tigers’ slugger Magglio Ordonez? The Tigers reportedly have enough holes to fill that they are willing to part with one of the game’s premier hitters to do so. That kind of deal has Yankees written all over it.

Two players whose team option was not picked up were the Yankees’ Jason Giambi and Dodgers’ Brad Penny. For all the talk about Giambi and steroids, the guy did hit 32 homers in 2008 and still has some pop as well as the penchant for bad mustaches.

Though the Mets need bullpen help more than anything, they are talking trade with Tampa Bay for starter Andy Sonnenstine. The Mets are also talking like they will not be bringing back Aaron Heilman, which is about as good a move as any trade to acquire a player.

Finally, free agent Ken Griffey may be heading back to Seattle, and pitcher Derek Lowe may be headed back to Boston. Stay tuned…..

Bush League TV.com put together a list of the best and worst MLB players of all time for all 30 baseball teams.

Boston Red Sox
2008 BEST PLAYER: Dustin Pedroia
Pure hustle. This tiny kid has won over RED SOX nation with his gutsy, balls-out play. He should never have to buy a beer in the Northeast US again. Not to mention boatloads of p—y.
2008 WORST PLAYER: Mike Timlin
Need a lead blown in the 7th? Mike is your man! He has lots of championship rings, which he’ll display on his middle finger at you while you call him a loser.
ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Ted Williams
The greatest pure hitter in baseball. Would have set many records and probably led the Red Sox to some titles if it wasn’t for a pesky little thing known as World War 2… He’s so damn good he’s in the Fishing Hall of Fame too.
*ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Eric Gagne
The French-Canadian closer was deadly as a Dodger, got hurt, stunk as a Texas Ranger and then stunk to HIGH HELL as a Red Sock. Boston couldn’t get rid of him fast enough…not sure why he’s even in the league anymore.
HONORABLE MENTION: Dave Roberts
His stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS made the greatest series comeback possible.

New York Yankees
*2008 BEST PLAYER: Jason Giambi
He may be sorry about taking steroids, but he will NEVER apologize for that moustache.
2008 WORST PLAYER: Johnny Damon
America’s favorite traitor phoned it in and came up lame again. One of the key reasons the Yankees aren’t in the post-season for the first time since Jesus was seven.
ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Babe Ruth
It’s not known ans DiMaggio’s Pad or Mickey Mantle’s Place…it’s the House that Ruth built. The best ever. Period.
ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Jose Canseco
Oh Steinbrenner, have you ever met a bloated past-prime HULK that you didn’t overpay?
HONORABLE MENTION: Yogi Berra
When you look at the old dude today it’s hard to imagine he ever played baseball. He looks like a mix between Yoda and your grandpa, except twice as huggable.
HORRIBLE MENTION: Carl Pavano
So far he’s made $2.2 million per start this year. Remember that when you see how bad the economy is on the news. He’s spent more time on the DL than Eddie Murphy. (Look it up.)

Tampa Bay Rays
2008 BEST PLAYER: Carlos Pena
It was almost Longoria until he got hurt down the stretch…but the smiling Cuban Pena’s 28 homers and 88 rbi’s (so far) have put the Rays at the top of the AL East.
2008 WORST PLAYER: Jonny Gomes
The Vanilla Ice look-alike is about the only disappointment on this overachieving team. He’s been hurt half the year, but he’s only batting .177 when healthy. One of those rare players that has helped his team by not playing on it.
ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Scott Kazmir
He’s young, he’s fearless, he’s strong and he has great stuff. It won’t be long before he’s the best player on a different team.
*ALL-TIME WORST PLAYER: Jose Canseco
He smacked 34 homers while hopped up on horse pills, hurt his back and wound up picking up a cheap championship ring with the Yankees. Not technically the worst player the Rays have had, but just a black-hole of a–holeness that invaded the clubhouse for a while.
HONORABLE MENTION: Wade Boggs
The great 3rd baseman played his last two years for the Rays and picked up his 3,000th hit at Tropicana Field.
HORRIBLE MENTION: Hideo Nomo
The leg kick wasn’t fooling anyone anymore in his last full year in MLB service. He’s still a god in Japan, he just can’t get a table at a Hooters in Florida.

Ah, anytime someone gets the chance to make fun of Jose Canseco, I’m in.