http://zellspinstripeblog.com/2009/02/04/cashman-yankees-will-not-pursue-ramirez-you-can-put-your-hopes-and-dreams-to-rest-now/

  Manny Ramirez will not be a Yankee this season. It's dead. Cashman stated that they won't be acquiring Manny Ramirez. I wanted him as well, but let's not get carried away here. How much should they spend? They brought in CC, AJ, & Tex. You never know what might happen down the road..he may very well end up in the Bronx later on. It's Manny..anything is possible. Once they signed Teixeira, the chances of them getting Ramirez were slim to none. Now these rumors should be put to rest.

     The Yankees won't be adding on any more big name players, but Cashman said that the Yankees are exploring the market to add some non-roster additions.

This is what Cashman had to say:

"Ultimately, we've made our decision," Cashman said. "We chose to put that money into Mark Teixeira to play first base. I do hear rumblings [that] people actually expect us to get in on Manny. That's not going to happen.

"We respect his abilities, there's no doubt about it, but we're now in the non-roster-invite mode. ... We've secured the areas of need and hopefully put ourselves in a better position. We're not playing on any Major League free agents, other than non-roster invites."

"He's great," Cashman said of Ramirez. "Obviously, [he's] from the Washington Heights area, right near Yankee Stadium. I hope he stays in the National League, and not at [the Mets'] Citi Field. Let him stay on the West Coast."

"Anything that looks like it could help," Cashman said. "If people are willing to come in and audition for the next seven or eight weeks, we're having those types of discussions."

"[A trade could happen] if something makes sense, but right now I expect fully to go to Spring Training with what we've got," Cashman said.

------------------------------------

A few thoughts before bed ... / Great Winter For Yankees' Cashman

Torre wonders if Roger Clemens bat-throwing incident may have been roid rage

Protecting His Yankee Legacy / Thoughts on the Torre book

3 UP: Torre, Castro, Zambrano / Yanks' fans won't throw book at Torre