home decor and garden are very famous in the world

Here's what Ken Davidoff had to say about the Yankees potential interest in Cole Hamels:

The short answer is yes, the Yankees absolutely will be in the loop as the shockingly horrid Phillies field offers for Hamels while also trying to re-sign him. Yet you shouldn’t expect the Yankees to go as hard after Hamels as they did Lee, and that has nothing to do with Hamels and everything to do with the new collective bargaining agreement.

The CBA, in its first season, discourages all teams generally and the Yankees specifically from making the sort of trade-deadline, headline-grabbing moves that so delighted the late George Steinbrenner.

Generally? As the Post’s Joel Sherman noted yesterday in a column, teams no longer receive compensatory draft picks for players acquired in their walk year. That means any team acquiring Hamels, who beat the Rockies yesterday in Colorado with eight innings of one-run ball, will rent the left-hander for two to three months and then, if he signs elsewhere — the Dodgers are favored to land him — will have nothing else to show for its efforts.

Specifically? The increase of the luxury-tax threshold to $189 million in 2014 has Hal Steinbrenner determined to lower the Yankees’ payroll to that number. In order for that to become a reality while the Yankees also retain their best players — Cashman said yesterday the club will contemplate extending Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, both of whom can be free agents after next year — they will need to surround them with cheap, productive talent.

That would be the sort of cheap, productive talent that would go to Philadelphia in a Hamels trade. The Yankees might not have a great match with the Phillies, anyway, because their best prospects (outfielders Tyler Austin and Mason Williams, catcher Gary Sanchez) are several seasons away from the major leagues and Philadelphia wants to dive right back into major-league contention next year.

Oh, and as long as we’re on the subject? The Yankees are not interested in Milwaukee’s Zack Greinke, just as they didn’t engage Kansas City in Greinke talks during the 2010-11 offseason. They don’t view his personality as a good fit in New York.

The Yankees should definitely stay away fro Greinke, it's painfully obvious from everything I've read that the guy would shrink under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

As for Hamels, he'd be a nice addition, but based on the Yankees new penny-pinching ways I doubt very much that they'll make any kind of splash at the deadline. With the best record in baseball I'm not really sure they'd need to anyway. Cashman said as much when asked about any potential trades:

“I’m not very optimistic that we’ll be needing to be active, or should be active, given the price tags associated with the players — what we need to do as we move forward [is] retain these assets that compel us to get this payroll down,” Cashman told the Post. “I’m very skeptical about it. But that doesn’t mean I’m saying we’re going to do nothing."

Yesterday, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus posted an endlessly intriguing and entirely speculative article on both BP and ESPN Insider - what would it take to pry Cole Hamels away from the Phillies?

Working with an unnamed MLB executive, Mr. Goldstein determined that the Phillies would, or perhaps should, look for a replacement in the rotation, bullpen help, insurance for the middle infield, and athletes with high upside. Mr. Goldstein then breaks down several potential offers from eight teams ... one of which is, of course, the New York Yankees. The content is insider-only, but the Yankees package is comprised of Manny Banuelos, Hector Noesi, Austin Romine, and Mason Williams.

First, allow me to say that I would accept that deal in a heartbeat were I in Cashman's shoes. I would help the players pack and drive them to the airport myself, then pat myself on the back for a job well-done.

That being said, however, I do feel that this deal is a bit ... light. Banuelos and Noesi could provide some immediate help in the rotation or bullpen, to be sure, but things get shaky beyond the two. Romine is fairly close to the Majors, but Ruiz is signed to a very team-friendly deal through the end of next season, and I'm just not too sure that the Phillies would jump on Romine as a key to a deal for Cole Hamels with that in mind, regardless of Romine's up and down 2011. Mason Williams is a stud prospect, and I think he'll make a few appearances on top-hundred lists - but he's several years away, and so much can go wrong in such a long period of time. Banuelos, Noesi, and Romine could help the team immediately, and Williams would be one of their top prospects ... but it seems too paltry, to me.

What, then, would I give up for Hamels? Or, perhaps more realistically, what do I think the Phillies would ask for? Considering Mr. Goldstein's very sensible criteria, I would think something like this could make such a deal happen - Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Romine, Eduardo Nunez, Corban Joseph, and Williams. Betances injects more upside into the deal, and he could likely step into the bullpen and dominate immediately. Nunez and Joseph provide insurance at SS and 2B, respectively. Nunez's shaky defense is certainly a hindrance, but the tools for success remain there.

Would I do that deal? It would be hard not to, in my mind. It's certainly a shot to the system, but Hamels is a legitimate ace - and he won't turn 28 until December. He's lefthanded, he induces a nice amount of ground balls, he strikes out nearly a batter an inning, and his walk rates are consistently above-average. If such a package could bring Hamels to New York with a long-term deal ... I don't think anyone in their right mind could say no.

Follow me on Twitter - @DomenicLanza