Kluber to Tampa: Dare Yank fans fear the worst?

Prelim thoughts after hearing Corey Kluber - "Mr. No Hitter" - has fled to Tampa for $8 million and his weight in carrots: 

Good riddance. The guy gave us 16 starts, sixteen - most of them in a crusted state of rehab. He's an Injury List all-star who turns 36 in April, and - excuse me - frickin' Tampa? Are you kidding me? Tampa? After all we did for him? Hey, thank you, Dear Loyal Corey. And if you ever again pitch in NYC, pardon the boos. Hey, everybody, once this guy clears his physical, raise the drawbridge and never let his name be uttered in our otherwise melodious Yankiverse without a chorus of purely distilled bile. We're better off without him. Sit on it, Tampa. He's all yours.

Then a terrifying name popped into my head: 

Bartolo.

Yeah, Bartolo... as in Colon - the pear-shaped sex bomb that Brian Cashman famously fished out of the burning Cayahoga in 2011, and who miraculously cheated time for another seven seasons, after the Death Barge cut bait. Cashman was happy to take a flier on Colon as a cheap longshot - but he didn't want to be left holding the bag. So we missed out on one of the great baseball comebacks of the 2010s. 

Of course, nobody knows if Corey = Colon, though he proved last year his tank still holds diesel. The question: Can he can pitch more than 16 games? And we know the Rays - the franchise of Nelson Cruz, Rich Hill, David Robertson and - not long ago, Charlie Morton - aren't afraid to pay an old coot now and then. Also, the Rays don't seem to make mistakes. 

Damn, why does it have to be Tampa? 

Meanwhile, the Yankees have a history of nursing injured birds back to health  - does the name Nathan Eovaldi strike a chord? - so they can fly around and bite us. Will this be another?

Meanwhile, I suggest you tune out the cacophony this week, as teams move to sign free agents. It will be a long, cold winter, and if Cashman is truly playing a four-corner stall - that is, waiting until a labor agreement is in place before making any big move - well, we should let him do it. 

Come Thursday, the music stops, freezing everyone into place until a new labor contract is signed. That could be March - or much longer. 

I believe small market teams will make big moves this week, because by buying a big name, they can sell tickets on him during the lockout. 

Waiting is a viable strategy. I gotta believe prices will come down on the other side of this dispute. In recent years, the Yankees have occasionally seemed to "win the winter." It sure didn't pan out. A lotta shit is going to fly over the next 48 hours. It's going to be impossible to process.

But here's something that's solid: Corey Kluber is a turncoat.