Wall Street analysts pestered new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz with all kinds of questions during her first quarterly earnings call, and she answered as candidly as she could, frequently pointing out the fact that she’s still learning the ropes and getting to know the business.

But Bartz couldn’t resist the chance to crack a joke when Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster asked her about Yahoo’s roadmap for 2009, and whether investors can expect any guidelines about when things might start rolling.

“Well, Gene, I thought I’d buy The New York Times tomorrow,” Bartz said.

Lest Munster think, even for a split second, that Bartz might be taking him up on his suggestion, Yahoo’s Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen clarified immediately: “She’s just kidding.”

And dashing the hopes of struggling newspapers everywhere Bartz reiterated: “I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding. Hi, Gene, how’re you doing?”

As for Yahoo buying The New York Times: what do you guys think? Is Munster on to something in his “An Open Letter to Carol Bartz“?