Yankees are offering arbitration to Bernie Williams

[Amazinz]

Bernie will probably end up with the Yankees but I'd have no problem with him on the Mets (assuming he's not the starting RF). He's a class act, have to assume he's a great clubhouse presence and he's the type of guy you want rubbing off on the young guys.

As far as arbitration goes I'd have to believe that they have an agreement in place. Otherwise this is a pretty risky move in order to secure an extra draft pick.

[Yoda]

Bernie should retire.

[TheYanks04]

Guess again...

Apparently Gordon is not good enough to spend money on but 2M for Bernie is esp. when Crosby is the other option. Bernie will be the starting CF by June and we will have a repeat of the 2005 season only without the playoffs. It is pretty obvious they are making it up as they go along and do not have an option on the agenda for CF outside of these 2.

Rotoworld:
The Yankees will likely re-sign Bernie Williams to a one-year deal worth about $2 million plus incentives.
Williams could essentially replace Ruben Sierra, who wasn't offered arbitration last night, but manager Joe Torre may be tempted to resume playing him in center field if the team can't upgrade from Bubba Crosby. While Williams still might be an asset in a limited role, he could quickly reemerge as a liability if misused

[stumpak]

What is to complain about? $2M for a guy who can fill a 4th OF/PH type of role is not out of line, especially when he is a career Yankee and a good influence on the team. I think that most of the 29 other teams would be glad to have Bernie in this role. In fact, I really admire that he is willing to accept a reduced role rather than bolt to soem crappy team for a chane to display his diminishing skills full time as most of these guys do.

[dyuen87]

Guess again...

Apparently Gordon is not good enough to spend money on but 2M for Bernie is esp. when Crosby is the other option. Bernie will be the starting CF by June and we will have a repeat of the 2005 season only without the playoffs. It is pretty obvious they are making it up as they go along and do not have an option on the agenda for CF outside of these 2.

can you say frustrated front runner?

williams has been a class act since day one. he' been a yankee his whole life. he never caused trouble for the team and almost always came up huge in the big spot. do you really want to see him come back in another uniform? torre shifted him in and out of center for a few years now and you never ONCE heard a word out of him. he just went out there and did his job. i seriously dont know how a yankee fan can just write him off and say thanks for the good times bernie dont let the door hit you on the way out. come on man. he should end his career as a yankee, and if that means two milion dollars from the payroll, so be it.

[bronxxbomber]

I want to see Bernie finish his career with the Yankees. I hope money isn't the problem here.

[BronXBombers51]

Complaining about $2 million for 1 year of Bernie Williams, a class act, career Yankee and a guy who could fill the Ruben Sierra DH/PH role very well?

Give it a rest, bro. PLEASE.

[TheYanks04]

Guess again...

Apparently Gordon is not good enough to spend money on but 2M for Bernie is esp. when Crosby is the other option. Bernie will be the starting CF by June and we will have a repeat of the 2005 season only without the playoffs. It is pretty obvious they are making it up as they go along and do not have an option on the agenda for CF outside of these 2.

can you say frustrated front runner?

williams has been a class act since day one. he' been a yankee his whole life. he never caused trouble for the team and almost always came up huge in the big spot. do you really want to see him come back in another uniform? torre shifted him in and out of center for a few years now and you never ONCE heard a word out of him. he just went out there and did his job. i seriously dont know how a yankee fan can just write him off and say thanks for the good times bernie dont let the door hit you on the way out. come on man. he should end his career as a yankee, and if that means two milion dollars from the payroll, so be it.

Do you want him as your starting CF? Because that is where this is headed. It does not take a rocket scientist to connect the dots here. No Damon...No Pierre...no one worth squat available via trade for CF to anyone's knowledge (and this stuff leaks out to the press all the time). You can argue the wisdom of not going after any of these guys, but bringing back Bernie?
Crosby is going to blow, Torre will fall back on old habits and there you go. This team is being built to lose in 2006. Will you feel the same when the go 90-72 and don't make the playoffs?

[BronXBombers51]

Guess again...

Apparently Gordon is not good enough to spend money on but 2M for Bernie is esp. when Crosby is the other option. Bernie will be the starting CF by June and we will have a repeat of the 2005 season only without the playoffs. It is pretty obvious they are making it up as they go along and do not have an option on the agenda for CF outside of these 2.

can you say frustrated front runner?

williams has been a class act since day one. he' been a yankee his whole life. he never caused trouble for the team and almost always came up huge in the big spot. do you really want to see him come back in another uniform? torre shifted him in and out of center for a few years now and you never ONCE heard a word out of him. he just went out there and did his job. i seriously dont know how a yankee fan can just write him off and say thanks for the good times bernie dont let the door hit you on the way out. come on man. he should end his career as a yankee, and if that means two milion dollars from the payroll, so be it.

Do you want him as your starting CF? Because that is where this is headed. It does not take a rocket scientist to connect the dots here. No Damon...No Pierre...no one worth squat available via trade for CF to anyone's knowledge (and this stuff leaks out to the press all the time). You can argue the wisdom of not going after any of these guys, but bringing back Bernie?
Crosby is going to blow, Torre will fall back on old habits and there you go. This team is being built to lose in 2006. Will you feel the same when the go 90-72 and don't make the playoffs?

Yes I will.

And that is because there is no other wise moves to make. Signing Damon is an awful option. Trading for Pierre or just about anyone else on the market is a terrible idea. Crosby will have to do. There is no other option that makes sense for 2006. Bernie will be brought back as a DH/PH. If he plays some CF, I don't see the big deal.

Do you honestly think the Yankees can do anything to win in 2006? They aren't going to go anywhere whether Bernie is on the team for $2 million or whether he's off of it. It's not as if they are giving money to Bernie when there are clearly better options out there. There are no good options. Bernie is not being brought in to be the everyday CF. That's why he got freaking $2 million dollars.

I know it hurts, but THE YANKEES AREN'T GOING TO BE GREAT IN 2006. They can't, without seriously jeapordizing their future by signing guys like Damon to ridiculous deals. The Yankees are no better, probably worse than they were in 2005. However, there was no way to make them better, so they sat back and let the expensive guys sign elsewhere.

Unless you're in favor of signing Damon to a 4-5 year contract simply to contend in 2006, ignoring future seasons where he'll be a burden on us, then shut up.

You just like to complain. If the Yankees plan was to get Damon, you would b***h. If the Yankees plan was to trade for Pierre or Hunter, you would b***h. If the Yankees opt not to make an expensive move and keep Crosby in CF for a year, you b***h.

You don't make any statements on what moves you would support, because you just want to hold the right to b***h no matter what happens. You're like the people who don't vote in the presidential election for the sole reason of being able to complain no matter who wins. Just stop.

[chadlincoln]

He pays them $3M and he can have a reserved seat on the bench for every game...