... but they're only playing a few more seasons there, right?

the next stadium is going to have the same dimensions as the current one (but a lower outfield wall) so yes and no.  They'll move into "new" Yankee Stadium in 2009, so it's still a couple years down the pike.
Following the Yanks, it seems like Cashman is lukewarm on Zito as a declining power pitcher, so Zito would have to offer his services at a discount to get suited in pinstripes.  I read a comment he made about the cost of free agent pitchers compared to what he thinks he'll get out of the farm system.
And remember that Boras is Zito's agent.

Let me preface this post by saying this: I'm frustrated. We were promised money would be spent this off-season and I know it's still early in the process....but DAMMIT. My addiction is getting worse every day. I'm on mlbtraderumors.com, fox sports mlb, google news, etc. ALL THE TIME. In the past few weeks it seems we've actually trimmed our payroll instead of adding to it. I KNOW something is going to happen...but I'm like a kid staring at that huge present sitting under the Christmas tree with my name on it...IT'S KILLING ME.
   I hate to spout off like a whiny bitch, but Padre fans should understand what I mean. This isn't like Christmas at all. You know why? Because Christmas comes EVERY year. Not for Padre fans. We haven't had Christmas since the off-season before the 1998 season. Here's what kills me...as the 1998 season was coming to a close...and many of us were running around town with our "Vote for Prop C" buttons and bumperstickers...we were given a promise. That promise was about the Padres being more profitable and in turn, putting some of that money towards players. We have yet to see that.
    Which brings us to now. Some major contracts have gone away (Klesko, Chan Ho, Woody) and we have been told by Sandy and KT we have around $30 million to spend. There isn't a whole lot left in the free agent market that can make a major impact on an organization. Personally, I felt Soriano was one of those guys. But at 8 years and $136 mil?? Um, no.
    This brings us to Barry Zito. Or as Christina has introduced to us: "Uncle Barry". One of the reasons Barry has been a guy in the spotlight has a lot to do with his personality, not just what he brings to the mound every fifth day. Some of the words to describe Zito range from "beatnik" to "creative" to "weird" to "spiritual". Barry has always been on a bit of a different level than everybody else. I'm not going to get into the numbers...the innings thrown each season, ERA, Cy Young awards or any of that other stuff. With any other pitcher I wouldn't be surprised if they just went to the highest bidder, which chances are would be one of the New York teams.  But I don't see that in Barry. I'm not saying he's some kind of saint, because the dollars the Padres have to offer will be damn competitive, but I think Barry will look at the process with a different set of eyes. San Diego will be HOME. HOME. At Petco he will be welcomed with open arms. In NY he will be welcomed with a big check and a "Why haven't you won us a ring, yet?" Ask A-Rod.
    Barry has a once in a lifetime opportunity here. He can still get the huge contract...AND he can come home and change a franchise. How many can say that? Grabbing the NY money and pulling on the pinstripes is now cliche and stereotypical. This isn't the 60's anymore. Mickey isn't in center anymore. Whitey isn't on the hill. Casey Stengel isn't in the dugout. The Yankee mystique is dead. The face of the Yankees is a control freak owner and $200 million dollar payroll.
     Be different, Uncle Barry...be YOU. Come home.

I've stayed away from here and all the other sites for a couple of days because the anxiety was causing me to grind my teeth and stare at the ceiling at night, wondering "Is Towers working right now?  Or is he bowling with Theo?"

(On a side note - staying away has forced me, as a transplanted San Diegan living in Dallas, to pay attention to what the Rangers are doing.  Here's what the Rangers are doing - trotting out their new manager to local Hooters locations to introduce him to the fans.  "The fans", I believe, consisted of a bachelor party and a bunch of kids from SMU celebrating someone's twenty first birthday.  When I say "classy", you say "Rangers!")

Seeing the front office sit on this salary cap space is brutal.  But I'm not in favor of spending money just to spend money.  Seeing the money that's being thrown around - Soriano, Pierre, etc - is insane.  I don't think anyone has said about any of the deals so far "Good signing.  Well done."

I am still hopeful that Uncle Barry and perhaps Carlos Lee are still in the mix.  The 2B we've discussed signing since trading Barfield are still out there, minus Nomar (which I don't think anyone bought anyway.)  So if you subtract Soriano from the mix (and based on what he got from Chicago, we were never really in the conversation), the players the organization has talked about bringing in are still out there.  

It absolutely sucks to wait, but I'm not in panic mode yet.  I'm close, but I'm hanging on.

I agree with jburtum1 and mikegedup. I have no desire to see the Padres spend money just to spend money. I've read quite a few columnists saying that it might be smartest route to just save the dough and wait until next off-season (better free agents, fewer teams with money to burn, etc.). It makes sense, it really does.

When you see what the Cubs and Dodgers have done in the last few days it makes you cringe. The FIVE YEAR, $45 million dollar contract for Juan Pierre was like a slap in the face. (And BTW - How happy do you think Dave Roberts was when he heard about this deal?) And thanks to the Cubs giving Soriano an INSANE deal...the price for Carlos Lee went up considerably. I don't know about the rest of you, but I would rather wait for another season than give Carlos Lee a $100 million dollar deal. No thanks.

My wish: Sign Uncle Barry. Then let KT do his magic and fill 2nd and LF for 2007. We can break the bank before the 2008 season.

Cincinnati, with one of the poorest defenses last season, just signed TWO veterans.  The Mets also signed a 90 yr old to run around on their OF grass.  The Dodgers just paid through the nose for a "come-back" player of the year and as for Cubs, I don't whether to feel more sorry for them or Soriano himself.  I guess he can buy his own ring with that pay-check, coz he ain't getting one in Chicago!  Having said all that I guess no movement in the Padre front office seems like pretty good news right now.

Here are the top 40 free agents for the 2008 season. This is from www.mlbtraderumors.com.

1. John Smoltz (41)
   
2. Michael Young (31)
   
3. Carlos Zambrano (27)
   
4. Joe Nathan (33)
   
5. Mariano Rivera (38)
   
6. Chris Carpenter (33)
   
7. Jorge Posada (36)
   
8. Curt Schilling (41)
   
9. Bobby Abreu (34)
   
10. Ichiro Suzuki (34)
    
11. Andruw Jones (31)
    
12. Carlos Guillen (32)
    
13. Jeff Kent (40)
    
14. Mike Lowell (34)
    
15. Vernon Wells (29)
    
16. Jason Jennings (29)
    
17. Jake Westbrook (30)
    
18. Ivan Rodriguez (36)
    
19. Trevor Hoffman (40)
    
20. Freddy Garcia (32)
    
21. Kenny Rogers (43)
    
22. Torii Hunter (32)
    
23. Jason Isringhausen (35)
    
24. Omar Vizquel (41)
    
25. Marcus Giles (30)
    
26. Eric Byrnes (32)
    
27. Paul Lo Duca (36)
    
28. Bob Wickman (39)
    
29. Corey Patterson (28)
    
30. Adam Dunn (28)
    
31. Randy Johnson (44)
    
32. Scott Linebrink (31)
    
33. Doug Davis (32)
    
34. Michael Barrett (31)
    
35. Milton Bradley (30)
    
36. Jon Lieber (38)
    
37. David Eckstein (33)
    
38. Aaron Rowand (30)
    
39. Juan Uribe (29)
    
40. Bartolo Colon (35)