Wily Mo as a Yankee?

I think it is worth noting that if the Red Sox did not make the pre-season move of trading Bronson Arroyo to the Reds for Wily Mo Pena - then right now Pena would be the number one target of the Yankees to replace Hideki Matsui as starting left fielder.

The merits of the Wily Mo for Bronson trade are still debated but that debate should take into consideration that taking Wily Mo Pena off the market may force the Yankees to make due with the substandard Bubba Crosby. That's a big plus for any Red Sox fan.

Some of the names being bandied about as replacements for Matsui make no sense. For instance:

- Junior Griffey - the Reds have new owners and trading Griffey just to move his salary would send the wrong message to the fans. With the Reds in first place right now - why would they make this move?

- Torii Hunter - the Twins aren't going anywhere this season but what would the Yankees have to offer for Hunter? Closer to the All-Star game the return value for Hunter will be best and I'm sure the Twins can find better offers for Hunter than what the Yankees will manage to come up with.

- Jay Payton - why would Billy Beane trade to the Yankees when if all goes well they might meet in the playoffs? Besides - Payton has never been great shakes at Yankee Stadium (career .740 OPS).

- Alphonso Soriano - again why would new owners trade thir top draw? The Nationals aren't going anywhere but it is not like the Yankees would be able to trade them a cornerstone prospect for Soriano. Ryan Church is much more likely but he's just a Bubba Crosby clone and they already have Bubba Crosby.

EDIT: Lyflines had similar thoughts on Wily Mo yesterday:

Red Sox fans who've complained about the Arroyo for Pena trade (and you know who you are) should be thrilled that Pena's in Boston instead of New York. Just like last year, when the Yankees could have used Jay Payton to fill their black hole in CF, the Red Sox have added the kind of depth that Yankee fans are wishing they had.