Q: With the free-agent market and the economy the way they are, why haven’t the Yankees made an offer to Manny Ramirez?
— Julio Marrero Jr., Chicopee, Mass.

A: Well, I can give you 423.5 million reasons why they haven’t made an offer to Manny (at least one that we know about). That, of course, is the money spent on Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

And while their projected outfield/DH combination — Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner, Xavier Nady and Hideki Matsui — doesn’t overwhelm anybody, Ramirez’s demands still are excessive.

According to recent reports about the Giants’ involvement, Ramirez and his agent still are seeking a four- or five-year deal in the $25-million-per range. I don’t see where that’s going to come from, as the Giants and Angels have backed away and the Dodgers haven’t offered more than two years and $45 million.

Maybe the Yankees will step up with a three-year offer, but I don’t expect it — and don’t count on Manny accepting any hometown discount to return to his Bronx roots.

Q: Will the losses of Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa have more negative impact for the Chicago Cubs than most people think?
— Tyler Hanner, Charleston, Ill.

A: The jury definitely is out on what general manager Jim Hendry has done to reshape the Cubbies after their division series choke job against the Dodgers.

Count me among the skeptical, especially of the decision to give Milton Bradley three years and $30 million. In fact, I’ll call that the riskiest signing of the off-season, and one that most likely will end up being a bad deal by the time the contract expires.

Bradley had a career year in 2008 — when he was playing for a new contract. Even in that situation, he missed 36 games due to injury and totaled only 414 at-bats, and that’s my biggest criticism of this deal. Bradley’s history of not being able to stay on the field is well-established.

In eight big-league seasons, he has more than 414 at-bats in only one other season, and that was five years ago with the Dodgers. And he’ll play next season at 32.

And then there are the more-nebulous but equally important issues of 1) can Bradley and Lou Piniella co-exist? And 2) can Bradley survive in the special set of circumstances that exist on the north side of Chicago? Maybe it will work for a year or so, but don’t bet on it over three years.

But to me, the better way for the Cubs to go would have been to trade for Jake Peavy, and just keep DeRosa (while adding Aaron Miles). DeRosa was a key guy both on the field and in the clubhouse, and I believe he will be sorely missed.

With Carlos Marmol ready to step in, I can see letting Wood move on (although I do believe Wood will stay healthy in the closer role). But by letting Bob Howry go as well, they need Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gregg and Luis Vizcaino to step into setup roles, or the bullpen won’t be as strong as last season.

Q: Isn’t Andy Pettitte delusional to think he will get a better deal than the one-year, $10-million offer he turned down from the Yankees?
— Skip Jacobson, Long Island

A: I was a bit surprised to see Pettitte turn that down, Skip. But I’m sure he feels it’s too big of a cut from the $16 million he earned last season.

After all, he’s given the Yankees 11 very-high-quality seasons, and they have spent so much money this winter on free agents.

But as you allude, where will Pettitte be able to get more money for 2009? I don’t know, because it’s not going to be from the Astros or Dodgers.

So unless something else pops up, I still see Pettitte and the Yankees coming to a compromise agreement — maybe by adding a little more to his base salary, and offering reachable incentives that could push the deal to close to his 2008 salary.

If you’ve spent so much money in an attempt to get back on top, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to part ways with Pettitte over what probably is a couple of million dollars difference.

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