To trade or not to trade: that is the question.

The Johan Santana talk may have reached its zenith and it looks like the two-time Cy Young Award winner's fate could be determined by the end of this week so I'll put my feelings down on record.

Just say no.

Other members of the network have weighed in on the issue and have made strong arguments.  You'll find some of them here, here, here and here.

I've been going back and forth on this potential deal since the discussions began, but my initial reaction was to pass.  The reason?  I wanted to see what the Yankees young crop of starters could do in the Bronx.  It sounds ridiculous to bank on potential when there is a bona fide ace dangling out there, but that was my feeling.  But if a deal involving Melky Cabrera (poor Melky -- it's the second season in a row that his name has been out there), Ian Kennedy and two minor leaguers would bring Santana to New York then I was all for it. 

Deep down I knew that wouldn't get the job done. 

Now it looks like the Yanks are willing to part with Phil Hughes, their No. 1 pick in 2004, for the services of the dominating lefty.  On paper, the parts seem to fit -- the Yanks would give away a potential superstar for an established one.  Fair trade, right?

You would think, but something gives me pause and I don't know what it is.

Is it because Santana went 0-5 with a 4.38 ERA against the Cleveland Indians this past season?  A team the Yanks lost to in the ALDS?  No, that's incredibly short-sited.  Maybe it's the lucrative deal Santana would want to sign if he came on board.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of six years at $25 million per.  But he's still in the prime of his career and I'm not going to be paying his salary (although I probably wouldn't be able to afford going to a Yankees game for the next 10 years or so).  Is it because Boston is in the mix and if they acquire Santana it would give them the best pitching staff in the majors?  Perhaps, but Curt Schilling is on his way out, Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't been as advertised and Josh Beckett is one year removed from a 5.01 ERA.  Is it the fear that Santana won't be able to live up to his awesome pedigree in the Bronx?  Almost every big name player that has come to New York in the past dozen years has had to go through some period of adjustment.

No, the reason I don't want the Yanks to pull the trigger is still the same reason I initially felt upon hearing the news.  Lets give the kids a chance.  The Bombers have been reloading with big-name players every year since 2001 and it hasn't gotten them a World Series title.  I realize that is a bit simplistic since it's not easy to capture a ring, but maybe it's time the Yanks head in a different direction.  The odds are definitely stacked against all three pitchers becoming stars, but wouldn't it be great if they did?  And wouldn't it be a crime if they were to live up to their potential in uniforms without pinstripes?

In baseball (such as in life) there are no clear-cut answers.  I can understand the argument for both sides of this potential swap and I can see myself getting behind whatever the Yankee brass decides. 

Their decision will also reveal whether the new Yankee regime is similar to the old one.