Walking in a winter meetingland

A.J. Burnett led the American League with 231 strikeouts in 2008, 73 more K's than Andy Pettitte's team-leading total for the Yankees. AP

LAS VEGAS -- The most fascinating feature of the Las Vegas Airport, without a doubt, is the slot machines. I simply cannot imagine why that works as a business model. It seems to me that if you are a slots player coming into Vegas, you would want to get to your casino slots as soon as possible and you would not want to spend your time at the airport playing slots. And if seems that if you are a slots player coming OUT of Vegas, you would be broke and sick of the ringing bells and just plain exhausted by it all.

Apparently not, though, because every time I am here I see people playing the airport slots. I guess the allure is too great. I can see the mind working. Hey, maybe airport slots are looser than regular slots! Maybe I can still get my big score! Maybe I can make up for all my losses with one lucky spin of "Wheel of Fortune!" In the end, I don't know. I suspect that the less time you spend thinking about how Vegas really works, the better off you will be. Don't even get me started on the whole cocktail waitress phenomenon.

ANYWAY, I've spent most of my time the last few days working on a big Sports Illustrated magazine piece about the baseball meetings and Las Vegas, so I haven't really had much time to write (or think) about some of the news of the week. Here are a few quick thoughts.*

*As usual, it turned out to be not-so-quick.

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People are wondering if the Yankees can REALLY buy a whole new starting pitching staff in one offseason. Answer: Sure, why not? They already have CC Sabathia, who I suspect will be dominant (though it is worth pointing out that he is 1-4 with an 8.61 ERA at Yankee Stadium. True, that was all against the YANKEES and in a stadium that they won't be playing in anymore, but hey, 1-4 with an 8.61 ERA speaks for itself). Then they agreed to a deal with A.J. Burnett. I'm not a particularly big Burnett fan but we all know he has dominant stuff -- and he will probably be the best strikeout starter the Yankees have had since David Cone was in his prime more than a decade ago. In fact, I would say he'd have an even shot at breaking the Yankees strikeout record which is held by ... we'll get you that answer the next half inning. AFLAC, ask about it at work.*

And then maybe the Yankees will add Ben Sheets, who I think could be the steal of the offseason. His big thing is health, and maybe he just can't stay healthy. Maybe that's just his curse. But when he is healthy, he can be an absolutely dominant force even if few people seem to notice. In his best year he was dominant and he went 12-14. That says a lot. And this says a lot too: On June 8, 2004, Sheets threw nine innings of one-hit ball against Anaheim. He struck out five, didn't walk anybody, threw only 103 pitches ... it is, in many ways the best game he has pitched in his career. And he got a no-decision.

Anyway, if the Yankees have those three to go along with Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes and whoever else -- yeah, that's a pretty powerful statement.

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I do not at all like the Kansas City Royals signing of reliever Kyle Farnsworth. I do not like it in a house. I do not like it with a mouse. I do not like it for two years, $9.25 million, but I would not like it if it was two years, 17 bucks and a box of Ho Hos. Royals general manager Dayton Moore asked me what I thought about it, and I told HIM I do not like it. Not that he should care about that.

But I do not like it, do ... not ... like ... it. I do not like it because Farnsworth hasn't even been league average the last three years. I do not like it because he throws a million miles an hour and can't get people out. I do not like it because he once slammed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to the turf during a brawl and later could not even explain why. I do not like it because I would NEVER go out and spend $4-plus million on a volatile seventh or eighth inning reliever. I'm hoping that I am making myself clear here -- I DO NOT LIKE THIS SIGNING.

To be fair, however, I do like Dayton Moore, and I believe he has a good feel for pitching and how to build a bullpen. And he was insistent that the Royals needed a hard-throwing righty to make it all work. There's no doubt that Dayton Moore is a lot smarter than I am, so I am willing to begin on the premise that I am wrong and he is right and that Farnsworth will indeed help the club and be a difference maker.

But I will also pass along what one longtime observer of Farnsworth said: "The good news is it'll reduce wear and tear on Joakim Soria's arm. Because now, he will never, ever be given a lead."

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*The AFLAC Trivia Answer -- which Yankees pitcher has struck out the most players in a season? -- is, of course Ron Guidry with 248 strikeouts in 1978. If you think about it, that's pretty amazing -- no Yankees pitcher has ever struck out 250 batters in a season.

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Through some kind of beautiful fate, I went to a lunch and sat next to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, the guy I think is the best manager in baseball. It was great. He told some good stories. He was as down to earth and modest as you would expect. I love Gardy.

Now, I have admitted here before, and I will admit again, that if I had a closer view, if I watched Gardy manage every game, if I watched the way he handled the bullpen every day, if I watched every one of Nick Punto's hundreds of at-bats, I might feel differently about the guy and his managing skill. Gardy does not necessarily see baseball exactly the way I do. He's not a big numbers guy, I think he has a much deeper love for the game than I do. He puts a much greater emphasis on some of the intangible things that I think are generally overplayed and overwrought

But I'm not sure any of that matters in the end. There are a lot of ways to win baseball games. And I love watching his teams play, love the way his pitchers throw strikes, love the way his outfielders go get the ball, love the way they execute. More than anything though, I just like the guy, and I think his players generally like him, and I believe that matters. I know from my own experience that I have liked my sports editors for more than 20 years now, and because of that I wanted to work hard for them.