The Joh-ante keeps going up.

The Yankees opened with Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera and kids; the Red Sox trumped them with Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and youngsters.

The Yankees tried to break the stalemate by swapping Phil Hughes for Kennedy, but refused to keep Kennedy in the package, and — presumably tired of being a defensive bidder — apparently put a Tuesday deadline on the offer.

The Sox came back with a new twist of their own, throwing outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury onto the table (perhaps someone told Prince Theo that with a Santana-Beckett-38pitches-Lester-Buccholz(sp?) rotation, Big Papi could play CF), but pulling Lester.

Thus far the new Twins GM seems to have played the Yanks and Sox against each as best as could be expected. Now who blinks?