Yankees have few moves to make

I enjoy the Daily News' Keep 'em or Dump 'em poll/game as much as the next fan, but the problem is that it encourages too many choices that are simply unrealistic.

There are many players on the New York Yankees that they cannot get rid of (no matter how much we want them to be gone) because of long-term, expensive contracts. But John Harper has some useful suggestions, which I think the Yankees should seriously consider.

The one idea that I think has the most merit is getting rid of Nick Swisher. Sure, his $10.25 million option might seem like chump change to the Yankees, but Swisher has proven that he is worthless in the postseason. I know some fans love his boisterous attitude (I myself have never been a huge fan), but I think his playoff futility has gone on too long to keep him around. And since the Yankees are stuck with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, Swisher is the most likely fall guy for the offense's failure in the 2011 American League Division Series.

I also like Harper’s idea of putting a weight clause in CC Sabathia’s next contract. The media seems to think that Sabathia became less effective down the stretch because he gained back all the weight he loss last offseason and then some, which is entirely possible. Personally, I would prefer that the Yankees offer Sabathia a contract where the latter years are triggered by reaching certain clauses such as number of wins and innings. But Sabathia has all the leverage in these negotiations, which he absolutely should use (we know the Yankees would), and is unlikely to agree to such limitations.

But as much as Yankee fans would like to be rid of ARod and AJ Burnett (they are so far running the highest dump scores in the Daily News poll), neither one of them is going anywhere. The Yankees have to concentrate on player moves they can make such as letting Swisher walk away. The rest the Yankees just have to live with.