Who will be saving Yankee Pinstripes Next Year... Papelbon

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Don't worry Yankee fans; help is on the way in 2010 in the form or Jonathon Papelbon and/or Jason Bay.

The Red Sox have been dragging their feet to sign these two cornerstones, ala Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemons, and it is increasingly looking as if Theo Epstein will watch them leave Beantown.

Acquiring Papelbon and Jason Bay makes great sense for the Yankees. It fills two needs and more importantly weakens their chief rival once again.

Rivera is an aging closer with a pedestrian 4.00 ERA, giving up back-to-back home runs for the first time last week,  and Damon's contract is expiring though he is having a rebound (contract) year so far.

Papelbon is demanding top dollar and has not been shy about it. Unfortunately, the Red Sox are being stubborn and fail to remember how difficult life is without a decent closer prior to Keith Foulke. 

Jason Bay is becoming more valuable and expensive with each passing game and has little reason not to test the market in the offseason.

Yankees should be licking their chops at capitalizing for the Red Sox Management's return to their inept Dan Duquette and Lou Gormon roots by losing their own top free agents: Fisk, Lynn, Vaughn, Clemons, and Boggs. 

Though 2009 is looking like a lost season of disappointment 2010 has a lot of promise with Papelbon and Bay in Yankee pinstripes.

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