Alfredo Aceves underwent surgery yesterday to “repair a fractured left clavicale sustained in a bicycle-riding accident in Mexico,” according to the Daily News. Aceves may miss the start of spring training.

Brett Gardner will undergo surgery on Tuesday for “right wrist tendinitis.” He’ll be recovered before spring training.

These surgeries are worth noting, as we often see players reinjure parts of their bodies during the season.

A.J. Burnett is this week’s featured Yankee card.
We found out Sunday Brian Cashman met with  Burnett to reassure him the Yankees still believe in him after a down year.

Earlier this offseason, the Yankees replaced pitching coach Kevin Long with Larry Rothschild. One of his tasks certainly will be to help Burnett recover in his third year in pinstripes.

Oh, happy December.

Nothing good can can come from publicizing every move in Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations. One of my close family friends put it beautifully in a comment yesterday.

This should have all taken place behind closed doors, especially if the result is as we think it will be (a contract for Jeter). This kind of stupid negotiating just sullies the reputation of both the Yankees and Jeter.

Exactly.

Why did Jeter’s agent, Casey Close, tell the Daily News he was “baffled” by the Yankees’ negotiating strategy? It only made both parties look bad.

And then there’s Mariano Rivera’s contract negotiations. I think they are publicized too much as well, but at least things are going smoothly.

Ken Davidoff on Derek Jeter (Newsday):

Sure, Jeter has had his non-baseball highlights. Most notably, he addressed the crowd following the final game at original (sort of) Yankee Stadium , and he did so again this past season when the Yankees honored George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard , after the two men died within two days of each other. In both instances, he was terrific. He was indeed a value add , as the kids say.

But those were very specific situations. It’s not like that’s a marketable skill for Jeter. He can’t go to the Red Sox and bring the video of those speeches. Nor can the Yankees think, “Well, OK, the next time we move or someone really important dies, we’ve got Jeter.”

Interesting.

We already know Brian Cashman doesn’t agree with Davidoff, as he told ESPN New York “We understand his contributions to the franchise and our offer has taken them into account.”

Oh, and I think a good chunk of the Yankees’ three-year, $45 million offer reflects his off-the-field value to the team.

But does Davidoff have a point; should the Yankees even bother to account for his off-the-field value?

I think so. The Yankees owe it to him. Plus, as Davidoff wrote, I don’t think Jeter’s career is over. One poor season late in his career doesn’t mean he’s done.

Fans voted the Yankees’ expected offer of $120 million over five years to Cliff lee is too high. Just 27 percent thought that price was about right and 11 percent thought he is worth more than $120 million.

Check out my three reasons this expected offer is too much for Lee, and also read why Lee doesn’t belong in pinstripes next year.

New poll: Which free agent is most important to the Yankees’ success next year?

Seriously.

Javier Vazquez reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins today, according to Jon Paul Morosi. Because the Yankees offered him arbitration (knowing he wouldn’t accept it), the Yankees will get a draft pick in compensation.

I’d say the Vazquez experiment failed for the Yankees. Wouldn’t you?

Buster Olney followed up on his tweets last night in today’s column. Here’s what Brian Cashman told A.J. Burnett (via RAB):

The GM simply told the enigmatic right-hander that the Yankees still believe in him, and to “reset and refocus” for next season.

This information was not worth the tease.

Buster Olney first tweeted Brian Cashman flew to meet with A.J. Burnett on Wednesday (he does with other players too). Now here it is, folks, Olney’s useless tweet of the day:
One of my Twitter followers thinks this tweet will likely lead to nothing, but what if it did mean something? Here are three possibilities:

Peace Out
Maybe Cashman met with Burnett to see if he wants out of New York. I think it’s a definite possibility. But keep in mind that moving him to another team would be hard to do unless the Yankees pick up a significant portion of the $49.5 million remaining on his contract.

Arkansas Roots
Another reasonable possibility is Cashman told Burnett to help convince Cliff Lee to come to New York, as Mike Axisa suggested. This might be true, but isn’t CC Sabathia, Lee’s ex-teammate in Cleveland, enough? Olney reported today Lee will meet with one to three teams next week.

Bullpen Sentence
Lastly, maybe Burnett’s tenure as a starter is over. This is the unlikeliest of the three, but it’s possible. As I’m sure you remember, he went 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 2010 — and he was 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA through May. A two-pitch pitcher like Burnett might be better off as a reliever. Just imagine if he replaced Mariano Rivera.

(Obviously, I’ll provide the update tomorrow when Olney reveals his secret.)

Via Joel Sherman (my emphasis):

Here is the Thanksgiving gift: The Yankees give Jeter a six-year, $75 million contract that breaks down as $20 million a year from 2011-13 and $5 million a year from 2014-16. The twist is that each $5 million year becomes a $20 million season if Jeter reaches 500 plate appearances in the previous campaign.

I sort of liked Sherman’s idea until I read the twist.

A $15 million increase!? Just for reaching 500 plate appearances!?

I would like Sherman’s idea a lot more if the requirements for the $15 million bonus were a little more challenging; for example, he should have to score at least 100 runs too. This will help ensure his 500 plate appearances are actually worth $20 million*.

*Because if you score 100 runs on the Yankees, you have to make $20 million. Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks finished second in runs scored in 2010 with 112. He earned $2.75 million.

Still, Sherman’s proposed contract would mean Jeter has a chance to earn $20 million at age 42! In all of these Jeter contract discussions, I haven’t read anything about him changing positions, and let’s just say you would be hard-pressed to find another 42-year-old shortstop out there.

With Alex Rodriguez likely manning third base (or DH) through 2017*, I don’t see where Jeter fits into the Yankees lineup if he’s not at shortstop.

*Fun fact: A-Rod will make $20 million at age 42.

The Yankees Double-A team’s clubhouse manager Tom Kackley is holding his annual charity auction to benefit Domestic Violence Project.

To help the great cause, place your bids on some cool pieces of Yankees memorabilia. The most expensive items include bats from Austin Jackson and Reggie Jackson, but you’ll also find stuff from Andy Pettitte, Jesus Montero, Austin Romine and many more.

The auction expires next Wednesday, so hurry up and purchase a holiday gift to support Tom’s effort.

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On that note, I’d like to wish everyone reading a Happy Thanksgiving! It’s hard to put into words how much you, the readers, mean to me. You keep me going, and I’m thankful to have been writing here for almost two years now.

I don’t expect a lot of Yankees news to break on the holiday, if any, so this will probably be it for the day. Enjoy your turkey, or for some of you, your tofu turkey!