Hot stove

Happily, Yankee-killer Roy Halladay appears on his way to the National League. Good, the Yankees won't have to worry about facing him until the World Series, and with Cliff Lee's exodus from Philly, advantage still Yankees — in my totally non-biased opinion.

Closer to home, John Lackey looks set to join the Red Sox, at a slightly higher salary than AJ Burnett.

Here's a quick breakdown of Lackey's seven-year career versus Burnett's 10-year career. Although Burnett made only 20 starts in 1999 and 2000 and 2003 was lost almost completely to injury, so each has pretty much pitched seven full seasons in the majors.

Lackey
233 starts
Record: 102-71
ERA 3.81
Innings: 1,501+
Ks: 1,201

Burnett
244 starts (24 starts in 1999 as a rookie, 2000, 2003)
Record: 100-85
ERA: 3.84
Ks: 1,473

Lackey somehow has the reputation of a consistent mound presence, while Burnett has the reputation of being unhittable one day and unimaginably bad the next. But the stats show they're almost the same guy.

The Yanks also let Chien-Ming Wang go. I would be shocked if the Sox didn't take a chance on him.