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Read: The New York Post reports Yankees GM Brian Cashman flying to Texas to meet with Andy Pettitte and offer him $10 million to pitch for them in 2009.

React: Essentially, this is take it or leave it. CC Sabathia is on board, A.J. Burnett is close to signing and joining Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. That leaves room for Pettitte only as a No. 4 or 5 and the Yankees want him to take a $6 million pay cut against his wishes. If Pettitte declines, the Yankees will apparently say farewell (for good) and turn to Ben Sheets or interally to Phil Hughes and/or Ian Kennedy.

The Yankees welcomed Pettitte, their homegrown star, back with open arms in 2007, and stood by him while he admitted to using human growth hormone. It's Pettitte turn to reciprocate and take his one chance to pitch in the new Yankee Stadium, or take his chances in a thin market for an aging 36-year old who had to shut it down after making the final start at the old Yankee Stadium due to arm trouble. The Red Sox are considering Carl Pavano, of all people. They'd surely intensify their efforts to negotiate with Pettitte, so it's not impossible to picture him turning to the dark side.

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Thursday, December 11: Posted at 10:50 a.m. EST

A quick update on the terms of CC Sabathia's immense seven-year, $161 million deal with the Yankees, to be formally announced after Sabathia passes his physical:

Sabathia can bail out after three seasons if he's truly unhappy in New York. Not only would this clause allow Sabathia to explore another monster payday at age 31, he could follow his heart to San Francisco if he wanted to. Newsday's Ken Davidoff lays out the following scenario:

"By the time the 2011 season concludes, Barry Zito will have just two years left on the gargantuan contract he signed with the Giants in December 2006. Tim Lincecum will be two years away from free agency. Matt Cain will be a free agent. The Giants will have the roster flexibility necessary to welcome in Sabathia, at a still young 31.

And the Yankees, they hope, will have developed enough young arms — from the group of Dellin Betances, Jeremy Bleich, Andrew Brackman, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and whoever else emerges — that they can cheer when Sabathia relieves them of their remaining, four-year, $92-million commitment."

That's something to worry about in three years. Staying on 2008/2009, the Yankees are continuing the facelift of a roster that failed to produce the team's first playoff appearance in 13 years.

Read: The New York Daily News reports the Yankees are set to send Melky Cabrera to Milwaukee for veteran outfielder Mike Cameron.

React: Here's what I wrote on Wednesday:

If you think the Yankees are truly content with [Brett] Gardner or Cabrera in center, remember that's what Cashman said about Bubba Crosby in 2006.

Now here's your projected Yankees outfield for 2009:
LF: Johnny Damon
CF: Mike Cameron
RF: Xavier Nady
DH: Hideki Matsui

What's holding up this deal is that the Yankees reportedly want the Brewers to chip into the $10 million Cameron is owed for '09. If it becomes official, the Yankees have a veteran with range and who'd fit in the lineup as a No. 7 hitter. Most important, it allows blue-chip prospect Austin Jackson another year to ready himself for the big leagues.

Cabrera was once viewed as the Yankees' center fielder of the future. Although he provided many memorable moments with his glove and bat, his .249-8-37 numbers in 129 games were not acceptable. (Don't forget his demotion to the Minor Leagues either.) Compare that to Cameron (.243-25-70 in 120 games) and you have yourself a fine deal.

Don't worry about Gardner, a fan favorite. He'll see his share of time in center and left to give Cameron and Johnny Damon, two players in their mid-to-late 30s, a blow.

By the way, Cameron is tight with Sabathia, while Cabrera's departure allows his close buddy, Robinson Cano, to spend more time in the gym and less on the town.

Read: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports the Yankees' hard charge for A.J. Burnett, offering a guaranteed five-year contract worth about $85 million. By way of comparison, the Braves offered a four-year pact with a fifth-year option worth $60-$65 million, which according to FoxSports.com was increased to five and $80 million. A decision from Burnett could come as soon as Thursday.

React: I've loved Brian Cashman's approach during the meetings. He wanted Sabathia and went the extra nine yards (or more exact, 417 miles, the distance from Las Vegas to San Francisco) and is intent on overhauling a team that disappointed in '08. But what in the world is he thinking with Burnett? Did he learn anything from the Carl Pavano disaster? You can bring Ben Sheets — a bigger injury risk than Burnett — on board for two years, woo Derek Lowe, bring Andy Pettitte back and perhaps give Phil Hughes yet another opportunity.

Anybody but Burnett. Prior to 2008 (18-10, 4.07 ERA, 231 Ks), Burnett's best season came in 2002 (12-9, 3.30, 203 Ks) and his overall record is 87-76. And I need not mention his injury history.

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Wednesday, December 10: Posted at 11:50 a.m. EST

CC Sabathia will be wearing an interlocking NY.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post was first to break the news in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Here's what we've learned after digesting our morning coffee:

• SI.com's Jon Heyman reports the deal will be seven years at an unreal $160 million. The contract is the largest ever awarded to a starting pitcher and the fourth-largest in Major League history.

• The deal isn't official — Sabathia still must take a physical and some legalese needs to be worked out — but a source told ESPN.com there are "zero major road blocks."

• Brian Cashman's trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco to meet with Sabathia and his wife, Amber, near the couple's Vallejo, Calif., home, apparently was the clincher. There was serious belief that Sabathia wanted to stay on the West Coast and play in the National League, where he can hit. But whatever Cashman said about the Yankees mystique, raising a family in Westchester, and of course buffing the initial offer with another year and an extra $20 million, got him to the finish line.

Exactly what Sabathia was thinking, whether he was playing the free agent game and truly wanted to play in New York, we'll have to ask him the day he's introduced to the nation's largest media market. There are concerns about Sabathia's durability — he's averaged 216 innings pitched the past four seasons — and whether or not he'll be a shell of himself at the end of those seven years.

But in Yankeeland, the future is now. Sabathia is the unquestioned ace of a rotation who will take immense pressure off youngsters Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. And when you study his recent history, you'll learn that he's the goods and looks tough enough to thrive in the Bronx. Now he gets his chance to prove it.

Who's next?
Read: Heyman reports the Yankees are in serious negotiations with Derek Lowe and an agreement appears likely to be finalized in coming days on a four-year pact worth about $66 million.

React: The Yankees aren't through with rebuilding their rotation, and they shouldn't be. I thought Lowe would be headed back to Boston and a reunion with the Red Sox, but now it looks like he wants a taste of life with the Empire. You think Johnny Damon gave him a call to make him a pitch?

Lowe (14-11, 3.24 in 2008) would fit right in as a No. 3 or 4 starter. He's another veteran who's thrived in big games (6-5, 3.33 ERA in 21 postseason games, 10 starts) and can mentor Wang, Chamberlain and the Yankees' collection of young arms. Lowe, like Damon, is also affable and laid-back, and would add another colorful personality to a shiny new clubhouse.

Read: Heyman also reports the Yankees' intention on adding a third starter next to Sabathia and Lowe, either A.J. Burnett or Ben Sheets.

React: As previously reported, the offer for Sheets is most likely two years in the $26 million range. That's a bargain and a risk worth taking. That said, the Yankees should leave their flirtation with Burnett as simply posturing. Five years for someone with Burnett's injury history and habit of giving his best in a contract year is ridiculous.

Read: The Los Angeles Times reports the Red Sox as the front-runners for Mark Teixeira. The Yankees are still in the race with the Orioles in pursuit and Angels growing concerned that Teixeira is slipping away. The report also presents a dark horse: the Washington Nationals, who appear willing to offer eight years and $160 million.

React: The Nationals? Who woke them up?

It's encouraging to see the Yankees rebuild their pitching staff, but their offense was a major disappointment in 2008. In a nutshell:

Average
2007 — .290 (1st AL)
2008 — .271 (T-4)

Runs
2007 — 968 (1)
2008 — 789 (7)

Home runs
2007 — 201 (1)
2008 — 180 (T-5)

RBIs
2007 — 929 (1)
2008 — 785 (7)

Runners in scoring position
2007 — .293 (2)
2008 — .261 (10)

Runners in scoring position/2 out
2007 — .272 (3)
2008 — .268 (2)

I've long been a supporter of Teixeira joining the Yankees. But should they add Sabathia, Lowe and Sheets, they'll be content with Nick Swisher, a poor man's Teixeira, at first base and look to address the outfield. Mike Cameron and Rick Ankiel are on the radar. With Bobby Abreu unlikely to return, the current alignment is this:

LF: Johnny Damon
CF: Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera
RF: Xavier Nady
DH: Hideki Matsui

If you think the Yankees are truly content with Gardner or Cabrera in center, remember that's what Cashman said about Bubba Crosby in 2006. According to Heyman, Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner wants Manny Ramirez and is said "not to give a (hoot) about his hair."

The rest of the Yankee hierarchy shouldn't give a hoot about Ramirez, period. He quit on the Red Sox and plays when he wants to play.

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Tuesday, December 9: Posted at 1:58 p.m. EST

A look beyond the ongoing tale of the Yankees' fascination with CC Sabathia.

Read: A source told The Boston Globe the Red Sox are kicking the tires over offering Andy Pettitte a one-year contract to join the back end of their rotation. Pettitte earned $16 million while going 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA for the Yankees in 2008.

React: Andy Pettitte wearing Boston red and white? Blasphemy! It can't happen. Or can it?

Let's be fair. The Globe report emphasized that any contact between the Sox and Pettitte seems preliminary and that no offer is imminent. But this has to grab the Yankees' attention once their obsession with Sabathia ends for better or worse.

Like the Yankees, Pettitte would be an ideal addition to the Red Sox at a reasonable one-year deal. He'd fight right into the middle or end of a rotation led by Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Justin Masterson. Lester and Masterson already have significant postseason experience — the former won Game 4 and the 2007 World Championship for Boston — and adding Pettitte would be a benefit in terms of professionalism and handling the growing pressures of winning.

Neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox are rushing towards Pettitte's door. If Pettitte goes anywhere, it may be Joe Torre's Dodgers, though Torre recently told Newsday that was unlikely. If the Red Sox want him more, Pettitte pitching at Fenway makes sense, but his reputation will be tarnished forever. It's one thing to want to pitch in your backyard (Houston). It's another to defect for a hated rival, especially after the Yankees pledged their unyielding support to Pettitte during his ordeal with the admitted use of human growth hormone.

Read: The Yankees will offer Ben Sheets a multi-year deal, most likely for two years in the $26 million range, reports The New York Daily News.

Should the Yankees take a chance on Ben Sheets? Yes, he's that good No, he cannot stay healthy

React: I feel better about this scenario after seeing the numbers. Try comparing this to the four for $40 million the Yankees handed to Carl Pavano. You can't. Two years and $26 mil isn't too high a risk for such a high-reward talent. I'd take him over A.J. Burnett, but how would Sheets compete in a hitter's league?

Read: The New York Post reports the Yankees are poised to increase their own four-year offer.

React: See above.

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Monday, December 8: Posted at 2:11 p.m. EST

For the next four days you'll read such take-it-for-what-it's-worth information about how the Yankees' Sunday night meeting with CC Sabathia "went great." You'll read reporters' blogs about loitering in the Bellagio lobby hoping for a quote or Intel from a general manager, super agent or baseball executive. You'll see and hear reports citing those "sources familiar with the situation" about a meeting, contract offer, contract signing or major trade. Some reports will be reliable, but with others you must not be so naïve.

Our advice: Believe everything you see and half of what you hear. And stay logged on to YESNetwork.com for breaking news and reaction from baseball's annual Winter Meetings as it happens. As of Monday morning, stories were already percolating over the Sabathia sweepstakes and the status of other Yankee targets.

Read: There's a feeling, according to the New York Post, that Sabathia will eventually re-sign with the Milwaukee Brewers. George King cites a source saying that the Brewers are exploring ways to entice the 28-year-old left-hander. One method is, as King writes, sweetening the pot and offering "contract flexibility" that could include an opt-out clause after three seasons. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports the Brewers are open to adding a sixth year, raising their offer to $110-$120 million.

New York Daily News columnist Bill Madden adds that it was Sabathia's agent, Greg Genske, who requested the Sunday meeting with Brian Cashman to try and buy more time for other teams to approach the Yankees' initial bid.

React: Here's what we know about what Madden accurately called the "$140 million game of chicken:"

• The Yankees' offer of six years and $140 million has been on Sabathia's table for more than a month. They want the burly and successful left-hander — and want him badly — but Sabathia is taking his sweet time to mull other options.

• Sabathia's druthers are the National League and near his home of Vallejo, Calif., about 30 miles outside of San Francisco. A popular theory is that even though he's the anti-Randy Johnson, he wants nothing to do with New York City, though someone told WFAN's Sweeny Murti that Sabathia debunked such a theory.

Here's the great unknown: Will Sabathia do what he truly wants to do, or be seduced by an increased Yankees offer and take the zillions of pinstriped bucks to play in the Bronx? Hal Steinbrenner said the Yankees' offer won't last forever. He's right. If there's any sign of Sabathia going elsewhere, he'll raise it and go all in. Don't expect this to be resolved by the time the meetings are over.

Who are the Yankees better off with? CC Sabathia Mark Teixeira

Read: The New York Post reported Cashman meeting with Mark Teixeira and agent Scott Boras, who told the paper that the 10 teams initially interested in Teixeira "has been reduced to six or seven." Boras, incidentally, also represents free agents Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez.

React: This space believes Teixeira, Lowe and Perez should be a Plan A, but it's Cashman's Plan B and he's not leaving any stone unturned. Sabathia is the only pitcher to whom the Yankees will offer an incredible amount of money. They'll do the same to Teixeira if they lose out on their top target.

I see Lowe going back to Boston, but if the Yankees can keep Teixeira away from the Angels and sign, say, Perez and Jon Garland, they'll have a stud first baseman and two of the three holes in their rotation filled with viable arms. The fifth spot can then go to Andy Pettitte, if he agrees to return at a reduced rate, or perhaps Phil Hughes. In the long run, the Yankees may be better off.

Read: The Yankees, writes the Post, are believed to be willing to add a fifth year to any offer made to A.J. Burnett, who has a deal of four years and $15 million, with a vesting fifth-year option, on the table from the Braves. In addition, they are also prepared to make a multi-year offer to Ben Sheets.

React: Why? There's no doubting that duo's immense talent, but can the Yankees, having dealt with Carl Pavano's garbage for four years, afford to take such a big risk on these two injury prone hurlers, one (Burnett) who always seems to bring it only in contract seasons? If Burnett goes to Atlanta, that's a blessing in disguise.