Yankees to Jeter: "Test the Market"

Jeter to Yankees: "Yeah? Well **** You!"

Not really, but man, wouldn't that be awesome? Let me preface this post by saying I love Jeter, and like the Yankees, but the Angels take precedence, and my dream world is completely nonsensical. Oh, and the Yankees did, in fact, tell Jeter to test the market, because they think he is asking for too much money, and while that might be true, the Yankees need Jeter more than Jeter needs the Yankees.

Its like telling Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio to take a hike, just because they are getting older. Granted, Jeter's 2010 was not a typical "I'm going to be a Free Agent, I need to play better" season. But his worth to the Yankees over the last 15 years is not to be ignored. 1/3rd of the seasons Jeter has been in a Yankee uniform, the Yankees have won the World Series. A Third! Any given season Jeter has been in Yankee Pinstripes, the Yankees have had a one in three shot of winning it all! Not to mention, they have made the world series 7 of those 15 seasons.

Regardless, if the Yankees dont want him, and for whatever awful reason we can't sign Carl Crawford, the Angels should go after him. Well, him and Jayson Werth, because we will still need someone who can actually still hit a baseball. Jeter would be a fantastic fit on the Angels, and a great reason to finally get rid of Erick Aybar, my nemesis.

Jeter is a great clubhouse guy, a team leader on and off the field, and is clutch in September and October. Not to mention it solidifies the Shortstop Position defensively. Even if he doesn't have the range or the arm of Aybar, he is far less prone to stupid throwing errors, or simply giving up on plays. Even if his bat isn't as potent, it can't be any worse than some of the sub-.250 hitters we had last season (Aybar included).

Also, consider this: In 69 Career Games in Angel Stadium, Jeter is hitting .344 with 10 Home Runs and 42 RBI's... Need more convincing? I didn't think so.

I 100% believe that Jeter will still be in a Yankee uniform next season, but if he isn't, for whatever reason, I hope to god its an Angel Jersey.

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More congratulations are in order for the 2010 AL/NL MVP's, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers and Joey Votto of the Reds. I won't pretend to understand why Votto was the NL MVP. He had a really good year on a really mediocre Reds team that happened to have the most wins in a terrible division. Josh Hamilton makes more sense, although he owes a lot to Vladimir Guerrero. Once people found out Vlad could hit again, Josh started seeing a good amount of hittable pitches. Regardless, congrats on the new hardware.

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In some non-Yankees related Hot Stove news, Catcher/First Basemen Victor Martinez (formerly of the Indians and Red Sox) has agreed to terms on a deal with the Detroit Tigers.

Also, the door has almost completely been shut on Hideki Matsui's Angel career. The Angels have not offered the 2009 World Series MVP Arbitration, and it would appear he will be testing the Free Agent market himself.