Yankees, and Johnson Close to Deal - Thank God

The Facts: Randy Johnson has expressed a desire to be closer to home. The Diamondbacks have expressed the most interest in the aging hurler and the Yankees have said that they wouldn't be opposed to giving him up for the right deal.

Spank's Opinion: Randy Johnson has been one of the most dominant and successful pitchers in recent history. He has stunned baseball fans for 19 seasons with fastballs topping out at over 100 mph and a slider that can make even the biggest hitters in baseball get rubber knees. Randy Johnson has had three twenty win seasons, over 3,000 strikeouts, and a perfect game. But now that he's older and more injury prone (who even knows what will happen after his surgery), it is time to get rid of Randy while we can still score a few prospects and bolster the bullpen. 43 years old is a bit mature for this era of baseball, regardless of his ability. While the Unit could probably give the yankees a solid 15 win season this year, he continues to give up the long ball. In 2005, Johnson's first year with the Yanks, he set his career high at 32 dingers -a 78% increase from his last year with Arizona. In 2006, Johnson made a little improvement giving up 28 but having pitched 25 fewer innings. Personally, I think passing on Barry Zito was a mistake but one that the yankees can afford to make having improved their situation in the bullpen with Pettitte and Igawa. I say get what you can with the aging Johnson before he retires, besides I can think of $16 million reasons not to sign an old man with a shaky medical history.