Farnsworth Bolts, Braves Ponder Next Move

Well since we last talked, a number of things have developed.

Let's see, first of all, according to ESPN and a few of my own sources (and Pinstripe Alley), the Yankees have all but signed Kyle Farnsworth. The deal is reportedly worth $17 million over 3 years. Not too shabby.

John Schuerholz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "We offered a three-year deal and were prepared to stay engaged in the negotiations, but we were told that he had decided to go to New York as a setup guy." The bottom line is that the Braves were not going to give Farnsworth almost $6 million per season. It just wasn't going to happen...especially with the Rafael Furcal situation unsettled.

And while we're on the Furcal situation, it doesn't appear that anything new has developed. I do know that Raffy's agent, Paul Kinzer, has been in constant touch with Schuerholz and negotiations are ongoing. I get the suspicion that we may wind up surprised with the end result. Just call it a gut feeling.

So basically, we're back where we started. We still need to settle the shortstop dilemma, and we need to find a viable closer. We may have a decision about Furcal, good or bad, in the next day or so. As for the closer, who knows...