"Yankees general manager Brian Cashman's thought process about the upcoming Winter Meetings didn't change while he was rappelling down a building in Stamford, Conn., yesterday morning practicing for tomorrow's "Heights and Lights'' celebration — an annual event that features a rappelling Santa Claus.

The GM's message remained the same as it has been since free agency opened shortly after the Cardinals won the World Series: More arms would be nice, but not at the current prices.

"[We want to] try to improve our pitching, but it's easier said than done. If we can continue to try and reinforce our pitching we'll do so, but it's really hard to do,'' Cashman said. "We'll have our conversations. We've got a lot of money committed, a lot of talent on this roster already, and trying to improve on it, at what price tag in terms of payroll and prospects? We're going through the process, but so far we haven't jumped in on anything.''

Chances are good the Yankees won't jump in on anything in Dallas, where the Winter Meetings officially open Monday. That's when Cashman and his crew will arrive, but don't expect them to make a major splash. The biggest news the Yankees might make is in the Rule 5 draft.

That's a far cry from the previous three Winter Meetings.

Last year, they announced Derek Jeter's new contract deal. The year before, they made the Curtis Granderson trade. The prior December, they landed CC Sabathia."