Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at the Bombers offseason plans; free agents, players parting ways, and analysis of positions that need to be upgraded if the Yanks look to correct their disappointing 2008 season.

First up is Yankee first baseman Jason Giambi. Giambi's contract situation with the team is unstable at best. The Yanks have a $22 million club option on his contract, or a $5 million buyout option.

It doesn't take an advanced degree in physics to see where this discussion is going.

All signs point to Cashman opting to use the buyout clause, saving the Yankees a cool $17 million. Once that's taken care of and the money's been wired, there are two roads the Yankees can go down with Giambi.

Road #1: Cutting Ties

There are a handful of Yankee fans that are salivating over this option, especially with the impeding free agency of Mark Teixeira and to a lesser extent, Hank Blalock.

If the Angels can't quickly resign K-Rod, we have a hard time believing that the Angels will be able to convince Teixeira that they're committed to winning. Despite their recent success, their lineup is aging quickly and could be subject to fire sales this offseason.

While Teixeira would be a huge upgrade over Giambi, there are rumors that Teixeira would be willing to play for the Orioles next season. He grew up in Maryland and rooted for the Orioles as a child. We all know that Orioles brass have been known to recklessly pony up big bucks. This could be one of those times. Don't look for the Yanks to get into a bidding war over a first baseman, as pitching is a top priority this offseason.

Internal options at first base are intersting. Cody Ransom comes to mind as the best prospect suited to play first, but when all is said and done, he's most likely nothing more than a super utility guy. Juan Miranda, a relative unkown until his September call up, has been dominating the Arizona Fall League; The 25-year-old ranks second in slugging percentage (.871) and third in batting average (.452),

Road #2: Sign and Cross Fingers

The road less likely traveled is to buy out Jason's contract and sign him to a lesser deal, one loaded with performance based incentives. This prevents Giambi from signing on with a team like the Red Sox or Angels and going on a 50 HR/150 RBI binge-like season and hurting the Yankees in the long run.

The posibility of that happening is highly unlikely, we're just writing it down now so we have something to link back to next September when Giambi hits the game winning walk off home run for the Angels in the one game playoff that keeps the Yankees out of the postseason.


River Avenue News Prediction:
Yanks lose the 'stache and bring in a handful of journeymen to compete for the first base job.

After two excessively long rain delays, the Yankees finished what they started by dismantling the Red Sox; 19-8.

Too bad it doesn't matter, a sentiment echoed by Bomber manager Joe Girardi; "I would have liked to have knocked them out of the playoffs and put us in. That would have meant something. It really doesn't [mean anything]."

Cody Ransom and Brett Gardner each had career days; Ransom homering twice in two consecutive at bats, off of two consecutive first pitches. Garder had a career high four RBI's. Bobby Abreu scored four runs and eventually knocked in his 100th RBI of the season.

Aceves lasted only four innings, and walked four batters, the most ever in his short major league career. The walks were most likely a result of the rain, causing Aceves to rarely get a good grip on the ball.

Bobby Abreu had five hits while Cano, Molina, Ransom, and Nady each homered en route to a Bomber 9-4 victory.
Mike Mussina left in the sixth inning, giving up four runs, as the Yankees trailed by one. After scoring two runs in the top of the eighth, the Bombers added four more in the ninth, sealing the win.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Damon CF	5	1	1	0	0	0	2	.312
D Jeter SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	0	.296
B Abreu RF	5	2	5	1	0	0	0	.295
A Rodriguez 3B	5	2	2	0	0	1	4	.309
J Giambi 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.250
C Ransom 1B	1	1	1	3	0	0	0	1.000
X Nady LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	0	.319
H Matsui DH	3	0	0	0	2	1	1	.313
R Cano 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.263
J Molina C	4	1	1	1	0	2	4	.227
Totals	41	9	16	8	2	10	15
BATTING 2B: J Damon (26, R Liz); A Rodriguez 2 (28, J Walker, F Cabrera) HR: R Cano (11, 5th inning off R Liz 0 on, 0 Out); J Molina (2, 5th inning off R Liz 0 on, 0 Out); C Ransom (2, 9th inning off F Cabrera 2 on, 2 Out); X Nady (8, 9th inning off F Cabrera 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: B Abreu (82), R Cano (56), J Molina (14), X Nady 2 (21), C Ransom 3 (5) 2-out RBI: C Ransom 3, X Nady GIDP: A Rodriguez Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: J Damon 2, J Giambi 1, J Molina 1 Team LOB: 7
BASERUNNING CS: B Abreu (11, 2nd base by R Liz/R Hernandez)
FIELDING DP: 1 (A Rodriguez-R Cano-J Giambi).

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
M Mussina	6.0	9	4	4	0	3	1	110-75	3.45
J Veras (W, 4-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11-5	2.78
D Marte (H, 5)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6-4	10.12
M Rivera (S, 29)	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15-10	1.60
Totals	9.0	9	4	4	0	3	1	142-94
PITCHING HBP: A Huff (By D Marte) Batters faced: M Mussina 25; J Veras 3; D Marte 3; M Rivera 4 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M Mussina 7-7; J Veras 2-1; D Marte 0-2; M Rivera 1-3

Scoring Summary
			NYY	BAL
	1st	B Abreu singled to right, J Damon scored, D Jeter to second.	1	0
	1st	A Huff singled to right center, B Roberts scored.	1	1
	3rd	A Huff singled to center, N Markakis scored, M Mora to second.	1	2
	4th	R Hernandez homered to left.	1	3
	5th	R Cano homered to right.	2	3
	5th	J Molina homered to left.	3	3
	6th	R Hernandez hit sacrifice fly to left, K Millar scored.	3	4
	8th	B Abreu scored, A Rodriguez to third on wild pitch by K Mickolio.	4	4
	8th	X Nady singled to right, A Rodriguez scored.	5	4
	9th	C Ransom homered to left center, B Abreu and A Rodriguez scored.	8	4
	9th	X Nady homered to center.	9	4