What the Hell is Going on in Boston?

Obviously this is a New York Yankees site. I try to make this place as Yankee-centric as I possibly can, but recent news and events coming out of Boston has got me with Red Sox on the brain. I'm not going to be overly detailed, but I feel I am familiar enough with that club, it's fans, and their expectation to approach their 2008-2009 off season activities.

September

• First things first, make sure all key decision makers are on board. Theo gets his extension. Look out Baseball!!

October

• Nothing, but you can't really do much until 10 days after the World Series ends, so not a big deal.

November

• In a surprising move, the Boston Red Sox sign a young pitcher from one of the 4,000 teams in the Japanese Industrial league -- whatever the hell that is. In doing so, the Red Sox break a gentleman's agreement with the Japanese Nippon Baseball League by not acquiring him the proper and traditional channels. Essentially, the Sox found a clever loop hole to claim a marginal player who will spend the majority of the 2009 season and possibly his career in Class A ball. 3 years 6 mill. Nice. I guess Japan needs more hats.

December

• Winter Meeting in Vegas come and go with little movements from the Red Sox organization. Grumblings about Teixeira, Varitek, Lowe, and a rumored meet and greet with Andy Pettite prove fruitless. Tex emerges as the big off season target.
  
• This is embarrassing. New uniforms? Alternate road and home jerseys? What are you guys, the Mets or something? Anything to make a buck I guess.
• Knowing that catcher is a priority, the Sox fail to offer any contract to back-up Kevin Cash. I guess the fashion show was too important. This is a key move as he's the only guy with experience catching Tim Wakefield.
• Sox do get some pitching help though by signing 3 to minor league deals --- Yeah, I guess you're right, Enrique Gonzalez (7-5 - 4.44 ERA in triple A, or 4-7 - 5.96 ERA with Padres and Diamondbacks '07-'08), Marcus McBeth (2-1 - 4.38 ERA combined in AAA, or 3-2 - 5.95 ERA with Reds in '07), and Billy Traber (We know who you are Mr. 0-0 - 7.02 ERA) aren't much help, are they?
• Yankees sign #1 target Teixeira. Multi-year deal for Youkilis falls through. Yankees sign Kevin Cash. Derek Lowe closing in on a deal with the Mets. Catching problem now multiplied. Big offensive acquistion goes to rival club. No big deal. Really. I mean it. I'm serious. Why doesn't anyone believe me?!?!
• Sox sign pitcher Brad Penny and catcher Josh Bard. See, nothing to worry about. Pay no attention to the fact that Penny has been a NL pitcher his whole career and is coming off a pretty poor 2008 campaign making just 17 starts, missing all of September, and posting a 6.27 ERA. Josh Bard should sound familiar to some. He's the back-up backstop the Red Sox shipped off to San Diego with Cla Meredith in 2005 for Doug Mirrabelli, right before a big May day game with the Yankees. We all know how key those May games are. It seems Bard had trouble handling, finding, seeing, and catching Wakefield's knuckler... which is the same pitch he'll have to adjust to this year. Oh yeah, that's a good signing.
• And just as recently as today, the Red Sox again tried to turn the clock back to 2005 by failing to make a deal with the Florida Marlins for Hanley Ramirez. Don't get me wrong, if they got Hanley, this post would have an entirely different tone, but it's straight desperation time in Beantown right now. They still need a starting catcher and either have little faith in the SS tandem of Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie or have no faith in CF Jacoby Ellsbury as he was a rumored trade chip and CF was the rumored destination for Hanley. The same lack of offense that stymied them in the playoffs may very well haunt them for the duration of the 2009 season.

I do apologize to any Sox fans who find this post brash, but I am truly puzzled by these decisions or complete lack thereof. Ten million dollars more (4 mill in some reports) would have gotten Mark Teixeira. Penny could work out as a starter, but most NL pitchers fail at making the transition to the AL. Kevin Cash may not hit, but he's a better option over Josh Bard. Pitchers and catchers report in like 2 months. They desperately need another catcher. Hanley Ramirez? Trying to get him back is a good idea, but failing at it in this off season of errors and blunders is just sad at this point.

I don't know Boston. It seems the Yankees have closed the 2 game gap between 2nd and 3rd place and then some. When are you going to try and make that distance up again? Or are you? Do you even think you need to?

Looking at Finances

Disclaimer: I never took economics in college. I've never balanced a checkbook. In fact, numbers make my head hurt. I also have a very vague understanding of the rules in regard to baseball teams, their finances, the rules of profit sharing, and the salary tax. While this remedial knowledge is suspect at best, please bear with me and feel free to correct any mistakes, errors, omissions, fabrications, etc. Thank you.

Yesterday's New York Post featured an article on how the Yankees can spend so freely and not feel the pinch in these harsh economic times.

The outrage from team owners, rival GMs, and talking heads in the media has been well represented and discussed widely in the weeks since the Yankees first went out on this big name free agent safari. I will spare you those details here and (hopefully) be ahead of the curve in regards to the next big stink involving the New York Yankees and how much money they spend, or in this case, don't spend.

It's no secret that the Yankees are moving into new digs next year. A lot of questions have come up recently concerning this Stadium and how the Yankees plan to pay for it. Some sweetheart deals between the City and the organization have been discovered, but I think the most important thing to remember is that they will be paying for it. In fact they will be paying at least a hefty $1 billion over the coming years for this Stadium project.

The thing is, due to the rules of baseball, because the Yankees are paying a very large out-of-pocket expense to build their own Stadium, they can deduct at least $85 million dollars from 2009's revenue sharing expense. For the record, in 2008 the Yankees committed $100 million, or 1/3 of its revenue, to MLB's revenue sharing policy. When we put it all together, what this all means is that the rest of baseball will have to split and live on a paltry $15 million dollars in 2009.

It's also important to note that the luxury tax threshold is higher this year and will continue to rise as well. Last year the threshold was $148 million. This year it's $155. I'm pretty sure it maxes out at $174 million over the next few years. What this means is that while the Yankees continue to pay this tax every year they commit top dollar to their players, the amount will continually decrease in the coming years if the Yankees continue to cut payroll.

Basically, if they can avoid signing Andy Pettite and keep this year's payroll in the $190's, then cut 26 million plus in the salaries of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and possibly Xavier Nady for 2010, they could easily get beneath the luxury tax threshold and keep more money out of their hands of their competition. The $126 million extra the Yankees handed MLB will be considerably less in the coming years.

Take note small market clubs. The free ride you get from Yankee money may be coming to a close. If true, the Cashman quote of:
We have the most money, no secret about that. If we combine that with the best decision-making process on a consistent basis, God help the rest of baseball becomes much more of an ominous threat than a rallying cry.

Teixeira News Most Will Never Know

There's a lot of under-the-surface Teixiera stuff I keep coming across. It's substantial enough to post here. It also proves a point that's been lost, forgotten, overlooked, and ignored since Mark Teixeira reached an agreement in principle with the New York Yankees. That point is Mark Teixeira wanted to play for the Yankees. He chose us. I like that.

Don't believe it? Fine, but if you think its all about the money (like I did), you'd be surprised to find out (like I was) that the Washington Nationals had a better deal in place. In fact, Texiera turned down 5 million more of Washington's money to play for the Yankees. He never gave Washington a chance to go even higher as well as he ran towards Brian Cashman's outstretched arms once the first offer hit the table.

Not surprising enough for ya? Get this, one of the reasons Mark was difficult in negotiations with the Red Sox, so difficult that the Theo-Henry Man-Boy Love Association left the negotiating table and cried to the media, stems from a little draft day strong arm tactics Boston tried way back when Mark graduated high school in 1998.

Apparently Boston wanted to sign him in the first round of that year's draft. They offered 1.5 million (who knows how much over slot that was in '98?) and then bad mouthed the kid to 29 other teams when he turned them down by saying he wouldn't sign. Then Boston drafted him in the 9th round. Needless to say, Mark turned that one down and went to College, but something tells me a little piece of him has burning towards Boston for the past 10 years.

I tell ya, the 2009 baseball season gets more interesting by the day and were not even out of 2008.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Mark Teixeira acquisition was certainly unexpected from where I sit. I went on record, several times and to any and all who'd listen, that there was basically no room for his services. My reasoning was solid. Youth in the form of Juan Miranda and, eventually, Jesus Montero would be more than adequate at 1B. Posasda's injured shoulder may force him to log some innings at 1B. And the 30+ crew on the other side of the infield may need to switch positions some time in the near future. There was always Nick Swisher too.

I was wrong. No big deal. But all those things don't disappear with Mark Teixeira on the team. So where do we go from here?

Joel Sherman writes in his blog that going forward, the Yankees will now try to move one of the four of Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Johnny Damon, and Xavier Nady. Essentially making that expensive corner OF/DH/1B quartet a trio.

I really love this idea. If getting younger and more athletic is really the plan, dumping one of these guys has the potential of netting you a good young infield prospect (SS anyone?) and a decent OF prospect to boot. Plus you're shaving a hefty chunk of salary off of a much improved and already cheaper team It's win-win-win.

Unfortunately, I do find fault with the Yankee he expects they part with. Sherman writes that Yankees have the most interest in moving Matsui and he cites a few teams that have interest in him. The thing is, to me, Matsui could easily be the best DH in baseball in 2009. Why go out of your way to greatly improve another American League rival? If you're going to move one of those four, it's imperative that you send him to the National League. They are still good to very good players.

Hideki Matsui isn't an attractive NL option however. His injury history and that league's lack of the DH position, oh, and his full No Trade Clause make any sort of move incredibly difficult.

Enter Johnny Damon.

He's serviceable enough in the outfield to play in the NL and is a premiere lead-off man for his career. He's also my LFY (Least Favorite Yankee). The Chicago Cubs, to me, are the perfect team for him. Tell me you couldn't sell that egomaniac on ending 101 years of misery in Chi-Town. He'd love it. There's enough media there to appease his post game gab fests as well. I also hate him. I don't think I can be more blunt in this regard. With Giambi gone, Damon is the new bane of my Yankee existence. Getting rid of him would greatly improve the joy I find when I watch my team.

For those of you who ask "Who's gunna lead us off?" Allow me to reintroduce you to Derek Jeter: Lead-Off hitter Extraordinaire. For those who don't remember, there were a few years in the early 2000's (it's almost been 9 years, where's the nickname for this decade?) where Derek exclusively lead off. In fact, I've always thought he was a better lead-off hitter than Damon was in 2004, despite those HRs in game 7. For his career, Jeter's a .315 hitter when leading off the game. He's got an impressive OBP of .389 and an SLG of .471 in that lead off spot as well. These numbers are in 448 career games too, or a little under 3 full seasons. They're all substantially better than Damon's career line of .289/.355/.438 as lead-off batter too.

The 2 hole is tough to fill going forward, but I really like Swisher there for a while or Cano if that doesn't work. And the best part about this scenario is it's not set in stone by any means. All I'm doing is buying time for Brett Gardner to hit 9th and prove he can consistently get on base. In the event he can do that, he's my lead-off hitter after the All Star Break. He's already proven he can steal bases, score runs, and make a big difference when his on-base. A full season of Johnny Damon blocks any possible progression Brett could make in 09.

After all we are tying to get younger and more athletic, right?

HOLY #$%*&@!!!!!

Well, so much for my thoughts on why the Yankees won't get Mark Teixeira. Good thing I didn't waste my time trying to rationalize that concept again.

Am I happy? No, not really. I'm just not too psyched about 8 years I guess. He's a great player and fills somewhat of a need (what do we do with Swisher and/or Nady now?) it's just that in the long run I think this deal will hurt us as any and all infield flexibility just flew out the window. How much longer will A-Rod mishandle slow rollers at 3rd. How much longer will Jeter be hurting us at SS with his diminished range and errant throws? How much longer will the Jeter/Cano double-play combo extend innings? Our poor infield defense may have gotten better but it looks to get exponentially worse over the next few years.

In the long run, whatever. He is an outstanding defensive 1B and he has a very impressive offensive resume. Ideally, the 2009 Yankees should be somewhat of a juggernaut. The 2010 and 2011 teams should also figure to go deep into October. It gets murky after that, it really depends on C.C. does with that opt out. I know this much for sure, it's pretty rare when you see a team commit $424 million dollars and 20 years to 3 players in one off season, let alone one decade.

And a big whatever to the money too. Boston apparently wouldn't budge from $168-170 mill over 8 years and we got him for $180. I gotta think that Boston really screwed the pooch by not offering another 1.25 - 1.5 mill per year. That's a less than 8K per game. Looks like those guys needed to "Cowboy Up". Unless of course they never wanted him anyway. That's believable, right?

The thing that's going to get lost in the wash is the simple fact that Teixiera really only wanted to be a Yankee. He met with us first and made sure we made an offer as suitors dropped left and right. Something tells me that will be the most overlooked part of this story.

But who cares, now the Yankees do have that offense everyone felt we needed and now we got someone to protect A-Rod (whatever the hell that means), can we just play the damn games already?

Manny, oops I mean, Many Questions Remain

Question of the day:

Why is it considered shrewd negotiating when the owner of the Boston Red Sox publicly fires off e-mails indicating they're no longer a factor in Mark Teixeira bidding? And when a spokesman within the Anaheim Angels organization says basically the same thing, the Angels are officially out of the race. Why is that?

The Red Sox are clearly the media darlings this millennium. They know no wrongs. When they "say" they're out of the Tex race it's seen as a coy strategy for dealing with a snake of an agent in Scott Boras. When they break a gentleman's agreement with the Japanese Nippon league, it's heralded as a new way to get talent. When they spit in the face of history and tradition by making a mad marketing cash grab by adding alternate jerseys, caps, and logos it's viewed as a progressive and unique maneuver.

And now that Anaheim is "out" of the Teixeira race, Boston will no doubt emerge as the desired destination. And if they do sign him, no matter what the cost, it will be considered a BIG get despite the fact that they don't need him. It will also be considered a moral victory when The Little Baseball Club That Could stares the big greedy agent/bully down and gets their man. That only happens course once they find a buyer for a 36 year-old 3B coming off of hip surgery or move the best 1B in baseball, Youk, out of town.

I still think this market is based on need. Anaheim needs Teixeira the most. Therefore they should get him despite the rampant rumors and assumptions that say otherwise.

The big problem is everyone in the media is trying to get the story. And they're missing it big time. The story isn't where Texireira goes. It's all based on who gives him the most money. Boras and Tex expect a certain amount of money to come their way over a set amount of time. No one has approached that amount yet. Why would teams drop out now? Why not get creative with opt outs or lower the deal to 5 years with a greater annual salary? It's called a negotiation for a reason. But the thing is the media only thinks that one team, Boston, is really negotiating.

A lot of this has to do with the notion that Teixeira want to play on the East Coast and reporters are running with this concept as if it's gospel truth and as if C.C. Sabathia and his "West Coast preference" never existed. You can't get a straight story on the numbers either. All teams involved have as little as 150 mill or as much 180 mill on the table. And Washington is out there ready to drop 200 mill in some stories. I don't think anyone's got a clue at this point, me especially, and anything could happen between now and when Mark Teixeira actually signs.

In other news, Holy Shit!!! Manny says we offered him a 3 year deal worth about 75 million dollars. I'd link it, but the paper of question is the Dominican Republic based Impacto Deportivo. I can't speak or read Spanish, so I linked the story that broke on MLB TradeRumors. Impacto Deportivo has a spotty record with breaking news like this so take it all with a grain of salt.

I'm pretty salty about it myself. All I can really say is "No Fucking way"! Damon in CF is a recurring nightmare I still have and Manny would get lost in the vastness that is Yankee Staduim's LF. I'm telling you, any offense we gain is lost defensively. While we win the 14-7 blowout game we still lose the 3-1 pitching battle, even with C.C. and A.J. The best thing for us going forward is a better defense, not a more potent offense.

"We Need Offense"

I keep seeing this. On message boards. In the "Comments" section after an online article or blog. In my dreams.

Seriously, these words haunt me. They're scary. Especially if Cashman hears them and it leads to 8 years of Teixeira and/or any years with Manny. That's just frightening.

I am steadfast in my belief that Brian Cashman will remain deaf to these pleas from the ignorant, uninformed, and downright idiotic members (a.k.a. "the majority") of our glorious fan base. Something tells me he pays a little bit more attention than these dunderheads.

For example, I am pretty sure Cashman is taking a lot more into account than "who's gunna protect A-rod?". I hate that question. I don't even understand the concept of protection in the lineup. It's probably one of the dumber things I hear people say when they're analyzing a lineup. There's 3 outs per inning, the batting order doesn't matter much when you're facing elite pitching.

Most fans don't realize the bats that we've already acquired this off season. Allow me to re-introduce most in the fanbase to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada.

Hideki Matsui has been battling injury fairly consistently for the past 3 seasons. In 2006 he played in only 51 games, he missed 20 games in 2007, and missed 69 games this season. Over that 3 year period he's missed more than a full season plus the playoffs.

The good news is he's our DH. The bum knee and freak wrist injuries are less apt to happen when you watch the other team hit from the bench. For his career, Matsui has DH'd in 134 games -- almost a full season. And over that almost-season as a DH, Matsui hit .296 with .369 OBP and .489 SLG. -- with 22 HRs and 90 RBI. Not bad at all.

It isn't too much of a stretch to expect this type of production next year. And it's a pretty good bargain at $13 mill if we could just get Manny off the brain. If Matsui can do that, who needs Manny anyway? Hell, David Ortiz, widely considered the best DH in the league, posted a .264/.369/.507 line last year with 23 HRs and 89 RBI. Granted he was battling a wrist injury of his own, but I'm fine with cherry-picking stats that prove my point.

Jorge Posada is our catcher. In 2008 he experienced his first injury-shortened season and only played in just 51 games. Unfortunately, his shoulder gave out on him and needed extensive surgery. He's still rehabbing the shoulder and has recently made as many as 75 throws from 60 feet. The hope everyone holds is that he can regain his shoulder strength and have enough to play 120 or more behind the dish.

Jorge's strength has always been his impressive switch hitting ability as opposed to his average to above-average catching ability. In 2007 he set career highs in offensive categories by posting a sick, sick line of .338/.426/.543. His career numbers are still impressive for catchers in the league with a line of .277/.380/.477. Something between/near those 2 lines is probable for 2009. And when you take into account the production we got from the catching position in 2007:

Jose Molina: .216/.263/.313
Chad Moeller: .231/.311/.330
Ivan Rodriguez: .219/.257/.323
Francisco Cervelli: .000/.000/.000

You'd understand first why scoring was so far down and second that giving up on Chad Moeller and expecting Pudge to do something was a really fucking stupid idea. Posada's numbers as a catcher are light years beyond this pile of shit we were forced to eat last year. Sorry for the profanity, but those numbers make me really mad!

The problem with Posada is that shoulder. It forces us to be extra-cautious in regards to a guy like Mark Teixeira. You can't go long term with Teixeira when 3 years reamian of Posada's deal. And those who point to Posada's progression in going 75 throws at 60 feet, he's still 6 inches away from getting it back to a pitcher with a 75 pitch limit.

Manny and Teixeira are not realistic or even smart options at this point. We don't need offense. So shut up.

Well That's Certainly Unexpected....Or is It?

The news of the day has to be this interesting piece out of Boston. In it, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has basically come out and said there will not be a switch-hitting gold glove caliber 1st baseman under the team tree this year. This will probably be the most referenced quote of the day so get used to reading it:

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

I'm assuming there just might be some truth to the Nationals rumors and the money must be in the $200 million dollar range. Or as the article suggests, publically announcing the fact that you're not in on the bidding is just a part of the negotiating process.

Yeah, right...

There will defiantly be a LOT of angry Red Sox fans on the internet this weekend. And there probably should be. The biggest deal they've worked out this offseason has been the Theo extension.

Sure, they got some crap arm from what basically amounts to a company softball team in Japan, in the process pissing off all the major Japanese teams -- and then they gave up their best defensive outfielder for a, at best, serviceable option out of the pen in the 6th or 7th inning. Now this. The guy they've been fawning over and drooling on since October has little interest in playing for what they're offering. Ouch!

This is also the same day they're all coming across this picture on the internet too. I wonder what's so funny?



To be honest, I feel for the Red Sox fan today. Maybe I'm just in the Christmas Spirit, but the Red Sox really didn't need Tex in the first place, so their fans can't be that upset. To me, Youkilis is THE GUY to have at 1st. I hate him, yet I respect the shit out of his ability. And to get Teixeira they'd have to move Mike Lowell (probably one of the better clubhouse guys and leaders in the game) or move Youk to LF. What they have is good enough already. And I don't really know how much better another #3 hitter makes that team.

Expect the hard push for Adam Dunn in the coming days/weeks. He fits that team perfectly and is the prototypical big, fat, slow, cumbersome, white guy who smacks singles off da' Monsta' and clogs the basepaths they've coveted for years. He can play left and first in a pinch though and is enough of a role player to fit that clubhouse and put up his numbers.

The Red Sox have,under the Theo regime at least, an organizational philosophy that they stick to in situations like this. They are ever-hesitant to lock someone up long term and rarely budge from the value that they give a player. Look at the Johnny Damon situation in 2005 for clues. This team isn't going to change its approach for any single player. I do admire them for that. And you should too, especially when we sign Pettite for $12-13 mill.

Take heart Sox fans. There's always Manny....

Cooler Heads?

Some relief today as more doubt appears to be creeping into this Mike Cameron situation. I wish it was over, but the tentative belief here is that Milwaukee and New York won't be able to find a compromise between now and the start of Spring Training at the very least. The Yankees really need to operate in the mindset that Milwaukee needs to dump Cameron way more than they need to acquire him and/or dump Igawa. I think that's course of action they're taking as you can't even get a straight answer in regards to the terms of the deal. Some have us taking a chunk of what's owed Igawa while others have Milwaukee picking up a portion of Cameron's deal. To me, the sticking point is who wants to rid themselves of which bad contract more.

The Manny stuff still prevails, but the more I think about Manny, the more I come to the realization that the two parties will never reach a basic agreement. I'll take Manny for one year. 20 mill plus another 5-10 in incentives. That's it. I won't consider anything else. Let Manny and Boras pimp the Yankees for a better deal with another team in a better economy next year while the Yankees pimp Manny's bat (never his glove, he's the DH or nothing) for ring number 27.

Obviously this will never happen. The player and the agent won't make that kind of concession and there's the very tricky situation of moving Hideki Matsui and his no trade clause.

I said it yesterday and I'll say it today, a platoon in center between Melky and Gardner is the best decision. Melky was good enough to start in center last year. He's good enough to start this year -- especially when you're talking about replacing him with a man who's more than ten years his senior and hits for average just as poorly as Melky did when he was sent down to Scranton.

What I do is start Melky and keep Gardner on the bench. Then in the 7th inning of every game, regardless of the situation or score, I pull Damon from left, slide Melky over and put Gardner in center.

Obviously I value defense over offense in the outfield. But it's needed if you look around the diamond. Every other position on the field is occupied by a player who is expected to contribute more with his bat than his glove. And seeing how hits that fall in the outfield amount to extra bases, this late inning defensive upgrade will take more pressure off the bullpen and help ice games. You're also helping Johnny stay fresh when he hits free agency next year. Cuz he sure as hell ain't coming back.

What's Next on the Agenda?

The pitching just might be solved. I'm confident going forward with both the bullpen and the rotation. With or without Andy Pettite, our staff of C.C., Wang, A.J., Joba, & either Aceves, Hughes, or Kennedy is promising enough for me to stand pat, sit back, and monitor the market.

I am the lone voice on the web who suggests the same for the offense. Look, I don't need Tyler Kepner of the New York Times to tell me the Yankees probably won't get Manny or Texiera. My brain pretty much screams the answer to that question any time I see it posed. Texiera at first creates more problems going forward than people are willing to admit and whatever offense Manny brings, he subtracts when you've got him in LF and Damon in CF. It couldn't be more apparent once you're willing to think about it.

I also don't need him to tell me that Mike Cameron isn't the best baseball idea either. It's very rare indeed when you can acquire a 36 year old OF and consider it an upgrade. Cameron would've been great 3 years ago. He's a bad idea now. He's the same as Melky but with a better slugging percentage and a slightly better on-base percentage. Why pay 9 million and and change for that when you know he'll be just as available at the trading deadline and he'll probably cost much less.

It's December, folks. Let's wait it out and let the market come to us for once. My motto until Spring Training is: DO NOTHING. Don't get Manny. Don't get Tex. Don't get Pettite. Don't get Cameron. Take stock in what you've got and don't do a single thing.

There's enough there if you're willing to look...

Et Tu Andy?

Somehow, somewhere, someway Andy Pettite has a 3 year 36 million dollar deal sitting on the table. Yeah, the same Andy Pettite who never fails to express his interest in only coming back to play as a Yankee.

Despite every inclination I have towards thinking his agents, the Hendricks Brothers, are running a ploy straight from the Scott Boras handbook -- you know, the ol' interested, unknown, and silent second party with a big deal plan, it's a classic. I say go for it Andy! Go pitch someplace else for 3 years. Do it! I dare you!

It's funny. Over the Winter Meetings the only team I remember with any interest in Andy outside of us was the Boston Red Sox. And while I don't put it past them to push us and/or make this deal that much more difficult, they can have him. I say this really only because they don't need him or are probably even in on him and would be a horrible team with Andy Pettite for 3 years. Or any team for that matter.

3 years?!?! Who wants a 36 year old coming off a career low with injury and durability issues who's also linked to and admitted to using HGH in the past? For that matter, why do we at this point? The longer this goes, the less I'm apt to miss or want Andy Pettite.

I don't even understand the position he's taking. I mean after the A.J. and C.C. signings you'd think that Pettite would go back to the Yankees with his hat in hands asking if there's enough room in the rotation for him. The team just committed 250 mill in a bad economy for 2 pitchers, why not try just accept their generous 10 million dollar deal and go out on top in the hearts and minds of the one fan base that cares about you?

Well, did care about you.

Bye, Andy. It's been fun.

But Are We Better?

Okay, enough whining about coverage. Let's cut to the chase and see what we're dealing with in the 2009 Yankees.

The fact that the Yankees did not make the playoffs in 2008, the first time in 13 years, was indeed significant. Significant enough to overhaul the entire rotation and put the youth movement on notice. Production exceeds potential. Produce or else.

And while everyone's losing their minds in regards to the how's and why's of the Sabathia and Burnett signings, the only analysis I'm going to give is whether or not they make our team better and just how much better (or worse) in relation to last year's squad.

Enter this article I ran across on Yahoo! sports. In it something called AccuScore has the Yankees winning 7-8 more games this season due to the acquisitions of Sabathia and Burnett. Leaving them with an AL East best record of 97-66. I'm mostly intrigued by this article due to the fact that it has Alfredo Aceves, not Andy Pettite or Derek Lowe, rounding out the rotation as the 5th starter.

AccuScore makes the claim that based on last year's small sample size, Aceves has the ability to be just as good as a final lap with Andy Pettite would and a mere 4 games worse than Derek Lowe. Normally, I hate projections and mathematical algorithms that try and predict a baseball season, but at least this article is asking the question "Who's our 5th starter?".

I think we'll be light year's ahead of what we were last year barring serious injury of course. The sportswriters paint the team as desperate today, but we were far more desperate last year using Rasner, Pavano, and Ponson in crucial games down the stretch and needing and expecting quality innings from Hughes, Kennedy, and Igawa in the early stages of the season. In fact, a whopping 68 starts were wasted on the likes of Giese, Rasner, Ponson, Pavano, et. al. Rasner started 20 last year. Ponson started 15 (So did Wang). Kennedy and Hughes had 17 starts between them. Brian Bruney started a game. One of the great things about the Sabathia and Burnett deals is they effectively try and prevent such travesties. We were indeed lucky to win as many as we did last year in retrospect.

The only drop-off comes in the area of offense. Some are pushing for Texiera and/or Manny to boost production. I think that's awfully short-sighted, unimaginative, and no guarantee of anything except another ridiculous payroll. But that's me. I've always believed that you don't need a lot of offense with elite pitching and solid defense. I remember 1998. Not a single guy on that list with 30 HRs, yet it was the best damn baseball I've ever seen.

That 1998 team won a league record of 125 games counting the postseason. There's no reason the 2009 version can't match or exceed that production. They probably won't and only because they won't address the key weakness facing this team going forward. Strength up the middle.

The key to the whole thing is Robinson Cano. Robbie can't hide in the lineup and hit 7th or 8th anymore. He needs to produce in the 3 or 5 hole and finally reach that lofty potential. Another slow start is unacceptable.

Getting more production from center field is also crucial. Improving Melky's line of .249, .301, .341 is also a necessity. Somebody needs to rethink this Cameron thing. A career .250, .340, .448 isn't enough of an upgrade to warrant the move. I'm pretty sure Gardner, Melky, or a platoon of the two exceeds both marks if you're able to foster a friendly rivalry between the two youngsters as they fight for playing time.

Catcher is a huge question mark. Will we get the '07 Jorge or just Jorge? And how well can he hold up anyway? To me, Posada's recovery and the deal he signed last year has been blocking any Texiera acquisition from the get-go. You cannot in good faith lock up 1B for multiple seasons and hundreds of millions if you're unsure about the health of your 37 year old catcher coming off of shoulder surgery with 3 years left on his deal. Why doesn't anyone still clamoring for Tex get that?

Which brings me to SS. Simple fact time: Jeter isn't an elite SS anymore. He's been on the bottom of the SS rankings for quite sometime, and while he may yo-yo between 27th and 20th place -- that's just not good enough. The whole Jeter thing really warrants its own article, so I'm not going to really get into it too deeply here. I'll just say this. Sooner than later we're going to have to upgrade that position from a defensive perspective at the very least.

I also look to the bench for help. Why are we still protecting Shelley Duncan? Can Cody Ransom produce like that for an entire year? Can Jose Molina repeat or even improve on last year's performance? Who can help round it out?

With the pitching seemingly wrapped up, these are the pertinent questions facing us now. Can we deliver that championship balance?

Media Madness

The jury is out. The Yankees have a lot of money. And that's just not fair.

Since the signings of both C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett the media has gone out of its way to be both disgusted and shocked by the actions of baseball's richest team. It's impossible to hear Karl Ravich, Steve Phillips, and John Kruck dissect these deals on ESPN. It's also laughable at the thought that these deals only make us "competitive" within the AL East as Phillips suggests.

Normally whenever I do this blogging thing I'll check a few sites, read a few articles and get a feel for the news of the day. There's usually something there that gets me thinking, sticks out as odd, or catches my eye. Yesterday and today when I scanned the headlines the one constant was a considerable bashing from the media.

As expected, the Cleveland Plain Dealer has some issues with the deal. C.C. Sabathia did win a Cy Young for them in 2007 and commanded a salary that Cleveland just couldn't pay. These things are unfortunate, but they did the best thing for themselves by trading the big lefty early in the season last year, knowing the impending price of free agency. Why the sour grapes now?

It's no different north of the border either as Toronto beat writers get in on the action. Even going as far as scolding the Yankees for their decision making and business model while ignoring the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays have serious issues with their own business model.

Even the The Boston Herald gets in on the action by going after A.J. Burnett saying his injury history and durability pose a significant threat. Why not use this keen eye in regard to the future of staff "ace" Josh Beckett?

It's just disappointing I guess. Every negative there is on Sabathia and Burnett are appearing ad nauseum in the media. Yeah, we get it, he's fat. And we know about his playoff record. Really? Burnett gets injured? Wow. You don't say.

There's also this overwhelming sense in the media that these deals the Yankees made were made out of one thing and one thing only: desperation. I am accrediting Lupica for this concept. And Bill Madden is running wild with it. What an ass.

It's ridiculous. The Yanks all but told you idiots with notebooks that they were going to do this. At every turn, Yankee decision makers were saying pitching was the number one priority and you all knew money wouldn't be an issue. Why the hell are you taking them to task for doing exactly what they needed to do? You know if they failed to get these guys and got a Lowe or a Sheets at less money they'd be ridiculed for not having the ability to land the 2 big guys. They can't win, it's an exercise in futility. I wonder why newspapers are becoming obsolete?

The double standard is also overwhelming. Yes, we know. The Yankees committed nearly 250 mill on 2 pitchers recently. But, if you remember, in 2006, the Boston Red Sox committed 100 million dollars with the salary and posting fee for the services of Diasuke Matsuzaka, who is indeed a very good 5 inning pitcher. They also spent considerable coin on Julio "Can I play, too?" Lugo and J.D. Drew that offseason.

Theo was shrewd. Cashman is desperate. Naturally.

You expect this type of thing in the papers of your rivals though. Their fan base doesn't want to hear about anything positive going on in the Bronx. Unfortunately our beat writers thrive on the negativity too. Flip "White Man Afro and Pedophile Moustache" Bondy really goes out of his way in an attempt to make an absurd point in today's Daily News. His article is so baseless and wrong that he's winning my Idiot of the Day award.

In this prize winning piece, Bondy somehow see the Yankees as old. This is hilarious. A.J. Burnett is the oldest pitcher in our rotation at 32. Let me say that again, the oldest starting pitcher we have is 32 years old. In the bullpen its Mo and Marte and a ton of young, live arms. Our core of Posada, A-Rod, and Jeter are older, that is true, but Damon and Matsui leave next year. Swisher replaces Giambi. Nady replaces Abreu. Sabathia replace Mussina. We've only gotten younger, really. We also aren't forcing our youth to produce now like we did last year. And I'm sorry Mr. Bondy, expressing interest in 36 year old Mike Cameron is not the same as acquiring him. Nice try Flip.

The only people who like these deals are Johnny Damon and Joba Chamberlain.

This is absurd.

Wow!

Remember watching Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner?

Remember how the the Coyote would come really close to catching the Road Runner by using Rocket Skates only to slam into a wall?

Welcome to Hot Stove 2008: The Yankees in Session.

AJ fuckin' Burnett. 82 and change. And I could give two shits about his injury history. Who's better than us? Somebody help carry Cashman's cock back to the Bronx, it's far to much of a cumbersome burden these days.

I only wish I had this damn thing in August when I called the Sabathia and Burnett acquisitions. My guess is Pettite retires by X-Mas. Who needs 'em anyway?

C.C.'s On Board, Who's Next?

The good news is that the Yankees' major, primary off-season target has been acquired. The front office put pitching at a premium and they went out and got a premium pitcher. And as expected the media is nit-picking, negative, and unenthusiastic towards the signing. Is there a journalist you wouldn't enjoy smacking around more than Mike Lupica? It's the day after and all he can say is "Johan's better". What a fucking douchebag.

Watching ESPN has become a rage-inducing pageant of smarmy talking heads shooting down the significance of that type of quality arm atop our rotation. I nearly threw my remote through the screen when Steve Phillips said Sabathia only replaces Mike Mussina. Huh? We didn't have Wang for a big part of the season, you know the 2 time 19 game winner. I don't know why I even expect an objective factual analysis anymore. I guess that's why I do this.

When was the last time the Yankees had a no shit power lefty with a 200 inning guarantee below the age of 30 anyway? Ron Guidry?

While I see the Sabathia signing as a positive, some moves on the horizon do look a tad disconcerting. First and foremost is the emergence of a trade for Mike Cameron. I definitely called this one and the Yankees home site even has a story. In it the Yankees part with Melky Cabrera. I guess that's better than the Dan Graziano piece that expects the deal to include Cabrera and pitching. Anyone who can tell me why we'd part with a switch hitting 23 year old at the league minimum in Melky and pitching for a 36 year old career .250 hitter owed who made 6.4 mill last year in Cameron without using the words "C.C. Sabathia" and "friends" should do so now. I hate this idea. Cameron lacks any upside at this point in his career and while he has 3 gold gloves on his mantle, Melky, to me, was the ultimate 4th outfielder because of his ability to play the 3 OF spots and his big arm. I don't get it, Cameron hit .243 last year. So did Melky, yet he finished his year in Scranton. Looks like you're getting the same guy for a lot more money.

Despite this Cameron mess, A.J. Burnett has emerged as the next big deal acquisition. Reports have it that several Yankee players are urging Burnett to take the reported 5 year $85 million deal the Yankees have on the table. 5 years of Burnett is a little much considering what we just went through with Carl Pavano. I think Ben Sheets at a 2 or 3 year deal is a much more prudent investment. Joba and Wang are young enough to be a part of the rotation for years. You've also got a bunch of young arms in Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, Brackman, and Betances emerging this year or in the coming years. Burnett at 5 and Sabathia at 7 pretty much block a number of these guys' ability to be a part of the rotation -- unless of course we're operating under the assumption that Sabathia bolts in 3 years when the weight of the Zito deal isn't burying the Giants as much. We will see.

Until then, keep checking back. It's obvious the Yankees aren't done yet and both Cameron and Burnett could be on board by noon.

Success!!

Yep. We got 'em. 7 years and 161 million reasons why the West Coast blows compared to life in the Big Apple.

Is he worth it? Time will tell, but I am very intrigued. In Sabathia we have the front-of-the-rotation ace we've lacked in God knows how long. And he's a lefty to boot. Oh and, he's 28.

The contract apparently has an opt out clause after 3 years of service. This detail has already been given the thumbs down by a rival anonymous GM saying that:

If he performs well, Sabathia will likely exercise the opt-out after the third year and become a free agent. If he does not perform well or is injured, the Yankees are on the hook for the rest of his contract.

Whatever, Theo. I like the opt out. It helps buy time to develop more arms if indeed C.C. tries to break the bank again in 2011 when he's 31. Despite this intense interest in starting pitching, I'm still operating under the assumption that the Yankees still have plans for a Hughes or a Kennedy. If he sucks..eh, I don't know, ask me again in three years. Let me enjoy this, okay?

Caution: Hot Stove

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Hot Stove season is in full swing! Let's check in on yesterday's action to see how it all shook out. (I just returned back to work yesterday, so updating my blog may be more erratic than usual. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

There were tons of news items that passed my desk yesterday. Funny thing though, there were just as many retractions to those "news" stories. 'Tis the season for unsubstantiated rumors to get printed. As I said, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

Ken "Scoop" Rosentahl was the first to report yesterday that the Yankees were in discussion yesterday for a Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera swap to the LA Dodgers for Matt Kemp and pitching. This rumor sent my little world into a tizzy. Thoughts of pushing Jeter to 2B and getting a no shit defensive SS like Raphael Furcal or even the slightly available Michael Young were soon dashed as the retraction from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti shot down any meetings, discussions, or even sightings of Yankee higher-ups. Nice one, Ken. NO LINK FOR YOU!

And how could they when they were too busy meeting with C.C. Sabathia and giving him a glimpse at big city life. This was primarily an information gathering session as C.C. no doubt was curious as to what 140 million dollars can buy in the Big Apple. Apparently you can buy a lot as this meeting was roughly 2 and a half hours long. The Yankees and Mr. Sabathia met again later that day and notables in attendance were Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, and Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson. The assumption is that C.C. will ultimately decide his fate sometime soon and either inch closer to putting his name on a Yankee contract or make a lot less money someplace else.

Yesterday, George King reported that Milwaukee was thinking of sweetening the pot and adding more money, another year, and an opt out clause a la A.J. Burnett to land Big C.C. Today though, Mark Feisand has got the inside scoop that the Yankees plan to offer a 2-3 year deal for Ben Sheets. It's going to be hard for C.C. to commit to Milwaukee knowing that his deal pushes any all other talented players Milwaukee has out the door. I don't see C.C. wanting to be the Steve Carlton to the Brewers. Big ups again to the boys at riveraveblues.com for this one, but it's kinda easy to break news when you're in Las Vegas! (Yeah, I'm jealous.)

On the lighter side, Carl Pavano spoke with A.J. Burnett about pitching New York. Surprisingly enough he was trying to sell Burnett on pitching in the Boogie Down Bronx. I can only imagine how this conversation went.

Burnett: Tell me about New York, Carl. Is it where I need to be?
Pavano: Yeah man! It's great! If you get hurt, they just keeping paying you!
Burnett: What about city life? Is it a tough adjustment to the hustle and bustle?
Pavano: What city? Tampa Bay? I love it! Amazing! I spent 3 years there and just hung out and drove my Porsche around. The women are outstanding too. You got a Porsche, A.J.?
Burnett: What? No.
Pavano: Don't get one. They don't handle well in the Tampa rain.

The Yanks do plan to offer up a deal for A.J. today and some think that A.J. could even sign somewhere as early as today. So stay tuned.

And finally, it wouldn't be hot stove season if you didn't have to caution yourself from getting burned. Apparently, Brain Cashman has been in communique with the agents of Andy Pettite through e-mail. He's trying to make the case that a 14-14 record with 4.5 ERA isn't worth 16 mill. I concur. Anyway, the Brothers Hendricks seem to be playing hardball here as rumors are swirling in regards to The Boston Red Sox inquiring about Pettite. Tony Masarotti reports that while it's more a case of the Red Sox just being inquisitive, Pettite's postseason resume speaks for itself and he could be very valuable in the back-end of the rotation for a team with postseason aspirations.

No shit. That's why we want him too. I fucking hate the Red Sox. Unoriginal bastards.

Vegas, Baby, Vegas!

Brian Cashman's quest to rebuild the Yankees begins today in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is being speculated that Cashman will meet with C.C. Sabathia in a sit-down meeting either today or tomorrow. The general consensus in Yankee land is that it's only a matter of time, but some nervous-nellies in the media caution against such confidence. Whatever. Wake me up when you've got something besides an opinion.

The random rumor mill is also spinning wildly away. Apparently we're interested in Raul Ibanez now. Great, it makes perfect sense to go after a 36 year old outfielder. Oh, did I mention signing him would cost a draft pick. I'm not even going to link this one. It's ridiculous.

With the Brewers facing the possibility of losing both Sabathia and Ben Sheets this winter, expect to see a renewed interest in Mike Cameron this week. This move was rumored way back when the Yankees first offered Sabathia that 140 million dollar deal, that was 1989, I believe... (Kidding! But the way some Yankee fans and writers are looking at you'd think this was the case. I quote the immortal Axl Rose when I say "All we need is just a little patience".) Anyway, Cameron is apparently a good chum of Sabathia's and may make the move to New York a little more appealing. I'm guessing it's a black thing.

That's all for now. The stupid time difference is going to make this a little difficult. Everyone's still sleeping off the after parties from the big fight last night. Poor Oscar. It's never fun watching an elite athelete come to terms with his career. I digress. Enjoy the NFL today!

Decisions, Decisions....

There has been this ever-growing and ever-confounding assumption within the media that the Yankees will immediately target Mark Texiera to play 1B if they fail to sign C.C. Sabathia. This has to be one of the single dumbest things I've seen surface this Hot Stove season. It makes no sense. None. It's asinine.

If you've been a fan of the Yankees your whole life or even if you've just started following the team, the one constant thing you've see them express interest in, pursue, fawn over, drool on, and all but fall over themselves for has been starting pitching. (Especially this century -- Roger Clemens anyone?)

If you looked at the roster today, you'd see the fact that we only have 2 starters, both coming off injury shortened seasons. If you've been even remotely following what the Yankee-decision makers have been saying thus far you'd also know that everyone has expressed a need for starting pitching above all else. So with all of this information freely out there, why in the blue fuck would the team be interested in locking up 1B with another long term deal?

We all love Mark Texiera. What's not to love? The guy's 28, he's a great switch-hitter who can get on base and hit with power, and he carries a gold glove caliber first baseman's mitt. In a perfect world he'd be starting at first and hitting behind (or in front of) A-Rod on a daily basis.

We all know it's not a perfect world. There are many problems that surround Texiera. The worst of which is agent. And while Scott Boras does have a seemingly good working relationship with the Yankees and despite the fact that Brian Cashman met with both the agent and the player yesterday, getting a deal done will not be an easy or smooth transition. The worst situation I can think of would be one in which Anaheim gets Sabathia and replaces Texiera with Adam Dunn leaving the Red Sox and the Yankees to try and outbid one another for Texiera's services.

Boras has had wet dreams about this. The price tag and length on Texiera's contract would skyrocket past absurd.

The most ridiculous thing of that scenario is that neither team really NEEDS Texiera. The Red Sox would love his bat, but are set defensively unless they can somehow find a way to move Mike Lowell (Good luck with that!). And if the Yankees got him they'd essentially be forcing Jorge Posada to catch for the life of his contract and forcing the infield to essentially stay the same for a very long time. This would all be done despite Posada's surgically repaired throwing shoulder and A-Rod's and Jeter's increasing age and decreasing defensive abilities.

It would also be done despite the Nick Swisher signing and the emergence of Juan Miranda's progression in the Arizona Fall League. Miranda hit .295 with a .423 OBP and .551 slugging this season for the Javelinas. For a full, in depth look at Miranda go here. Big ups to the boys at River Ave. Blues. 2nd best Yankee blog I can think of....

I really hate to do this because it's so far away, but if Mark Texiera signs it's going to be for a very long time -- at least 8 years if you ask me. This signing would no doubt affect a guy like Jesus Montero, who some call the future of the Yankees. And while Montero sits behind the dish now as a catcher, most project him, due to his size, power, and hitting ability, to become a corner outfielder or firstbaseman. Why get Texiera when you've got 2-3 years until this kid is ready?

I dunno. Seems to me that if the Yankees don't get C.C. they'll just target another pitcher and stay in on Texiera to push the price higher. Not to sign him. The business nature of baseball pretty much dictates it. I mean the Yankees are trimming enough money to be able to sign both Sabathia and Texiera and still be in the black. Why wouldn't they just be in on both?

The simplest answer is that they're both Type A free agents and would cost draft picks. These are arguably the two best free agents on the market. The problem is that they are not interchangeable talents. Mark Texiera won't help our starting pitching and C.C. Sabathia won't help the Angles score runs. If the Yankees have the capabilities to sign both the fact that they don't, in the first offseason of the past 13 in which they failed to make the playoffs, should be very telling.

What they are telling me is that if C.C. makes up his mind to pitch someplace else the Yankees will move onto Derek Lowe and ask on A.J. Burnett (Also Type A free agents). They will not pursue Mark Texiera first or for first. So stop it.

Saturday's Attempt at News

College Football will no doubt take up the majority of my day, so I'll get to the news quickly and check back in periodically if anything happens. There ain't much.

The New York Post has this neat feature they run on Saturdays called Prospecting. Unfortunately, they only provide information on Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano's stints in the Dominican Winter league this week. (Naturally I skip the crap about the Mets.) Both players are doing well. Cano, limited to DH duty, is batting .317 with a .404 OBP the Melk-Man looks even better with a .326 avg and a .380 OBP. Really makes you want to rethink that Cano to Dodgers bullshit that LA seems to be pushing for.

I really haven't been doing this for more than a week, and it's already cracking me up. If you remember, a few days ago Tony Masarotti of The Boston Globe broke the story that Cashman was flying out to California to meet with Scott Boras. The next day, Tyler Kepner of The New York Times had the story that Cash meet with Boras, but in this one, Boras requested the meeting at the behest of client Mark Texiera. The interesting thing is that this meeting took place in the D.C. area. This meeting was primarily used to get the Mark Texiera race off and running as the meeting apparently took place in Texiera's Maryland home. No deals were offered, but Cash it is rumored also asked on Derek Lowe specifically. It is also assumed that Manny Ramirez and Oliver Perez were discussed as well. It gets just ridiculous here though because today Newsday happily leads with the information that Cash and Boras met in Southern California!?!? Which is it? D.C. or California? It's not like these areas border each other or are even in the same region.

Nice work guys apparently its not about being right anymore. I guess just being printed is enough for most.

Let's Play The Dating Game!

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman gives us a Winter Meeting Preview in his Daily Scoop. In it, an anonymous friend of C.C. Sabathia reveals two mystery suitors have offered up deals. These unnamed teams and unknown deals are indeed curious, but I have to think if they were substantial or attractive we'd know about them by now. It's not like there's been a lot of news lately on the Sabathia front.

Heyman also notes that Cashman expressed "heavy interest" in Derek Lowe when he met with Scott Boras yesterday. There's something very off-putting about the phrase "heavy interest" in this situation. The mental picture I get isn't pretty.

Seriously though, I am not enamored by Derek Lowe. There's nothing negative about the guy I can pin point though. His numbers, durability, and big game status is impressive. The worst thing I can come up with is his age, agent, and affiliation with Red Sox. I just don't like Lowe I guess.

Oh, No! A Mexican Standoff!!

Peter Gammons is elusive!

I keep seeing this little blurb on the ESPN news ticker that's accredited to Gammons. I'd like to link it for my readers, but seeing as I have gotten one response since I started this thing, (Thanks whoever you are. You are appreciated and loved.) I'm just going to give a brief rundown.

Gammons is reporting that Sabathia is waiting to see where Mark Texiera goes before he signs. Meanwhile, Derek Lowe isn't doing anything until C.C. sets the market.

Jeez, it's a good thing this isn't getting complicated.

It seems C.C. is specifically waiting to see if the Angels retain Texiera, as that kind of long-term deal would officially push the Angles out of the running to land the big man. The problem is, Mark Texiera is a Scott Boras client. Scott Boras isn't known for the speed and ease in which he conducts business and gets his clients signed.

Blowing Smoke?

ESPN's and Vanderbilt's own Buster Olney checks in today with a few head scratching and eye catching tidbits.

• The Red Sox apparently plan to meet with C.C. Sabathia in the next few days. The general consensus around baseball doesn't see the Red Sox with the ability or desire to attempt to match, meet, or exceed the initial Yankee offer of $140 million. It seems Theo and the boys would just be doing their due diligence by meeting with Sabathia. Still though, screw the Red Sox.

• Despite the great news last week on the new and improved Robinson Cano, the fact Kevin Long sees him as a 3 or 5 for us next year, and his numbers in the Dominican Winter League, the Yankees seem to have Orlando Hudson on the brain. Olney seems to be taking a shot in the dark here, but he sees a scenario in which the Yankees will offer Cano to the Dodgers in a straight up deal for either Claton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley. When those deals are shot down the Yankees will then try to use Cano and land Matt Kemp. Ultimately leaving 2B free for Orlando. This scenario seems highly unlikely, but is a possible route the Yankees make take if they fail to land any of the front line starters they are targeting. The sting of losing Cano would no doubt hurt, but an upgrade via trade protects your draft day options. It's pretty sill still though. Why trade a 2B for an OF like Kemp when everyone with eyes and a brain knows you desperately need pitching.
  

Just a Matter of Time?

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Brian Cashman plans to meet with C.C. Sabathia in a face-to-face sit down next week as the GM meetings take place in Las Vegas (Dec. 8-11). While the exact date is not set, the lack of any substantial offer from a West Coast team has me thinking that this is a done deal.

The naysayers, succinctly integrated into the conversation via Tyler Kepner's piece in The New York Times, point to C.C.'s wife desire to stay on the West Coast and the quotes from his representation that suggest a deal of equal value from either the Giants, Dodgers, or Angels would ensure C.C. stay put in his native Vallejo, CA home. The big problem with that line of thinking is that the Yankees have no qualms throwing more and more millions on the pile.

The market is based on need. This year more so than ever. And every club out there is addressing their own needs by allocating whatever funds they can towards acquiring their big targets. The Yankees need Sabathia. The Giants have already spent 16 mill on their infield and bullpen. Two big needs for them. Giants GM Brian Sabean has already publicly withdrawn from the Sabbathia chase by stating "We're not actively out there swimming with the sharks". The Angels need
Texiera. Their GM has recently gone on record placing Mark Texiera as their number one priority. Really, the only other card player at the table is the Dodgers. And they seem just as overwhelmed by the pot as the two players who folded their hands already. Cashman seems ready to call, but he's also able to raise. I wouldn't want to be at that poker table either.

This Sabbathia drama really reminds me of a Brian Cashman quote I've been thinking about since he took exclusive control of the franchise in 2005. The minute I read it I understood why Brian Cashman was granted such power.

The last couple years, there were too many philosophies and at times they contradicted. We have had success despite that, but not the ultimate success. We have the most money, no secret about that. If we combine that with the best decision-making process on a consistent basis, God help the rest of baseball. Brian Cashman, 2005

An Amendment

Looks like Newsday's Ken Davidoff was looking a little too far into his crystal ball. David O'Brein of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution actually heard from Braves GM Frank Wren. A pretty good source if you ask me. Anyway, O'Brien confirms that while the Braves did indeed offer a contract for the services of AJ Burnett, they have yet to guarantee a fifth year. The contract may have a fifth year as an option and is believed to average 15 mill per. This amounts to nothing more than the first ticket entered in the A.J. Burnett sweepstakes.

Oh,wow! It's some news!

Holy crap, there's actually news in the paper today! Let's take a peek.

• Newsday scribe Ken Davidoff pens a charming article that describes a good news, bad news scenario involving C.C. Sabbathia and A.J. Burnett. The Braves seemed poised to snag Burnett for 5 as if the name Mike Hampton was never spoken in the ATL. Meanwhile the Yanks seem confident that C.C. won't see a better deal and will soon come a knockin'. Kenny does a little embellishment in this one when he suggests the Yankees will target Derek Lowe once C.C. and Pettite are signed.
  
• In sharp, direct, and pointed contrast, Big Mark Feisand of The Daily News contends that The San Francisco Giants will test the Sabbathia market by trying to find the magic number between 100 and 140 million. Personally I can't think the words "home team discount" will exist this offseason and C.C. will chase the paper. Apparently the hefty lefty's wifey wants to stay closer to home. I think she'd want a bigger paycheck for her husband more. Why not? I know just her as much as anyone else reporting.
  
• Andy Pettitte is in the paper today too. Jack Curry of The New York Times did a phone interview with Mr. Pettite in which he once again expressed his desire to be a part of the '09 team. This one's a no brainer. The agents and the team just need to decide on a number. All we know is that it's not 10 million and it's certainly not 16. I think 12.5 will do.
  
• And finally, Tony Massarotti of The Boston Globe scoops all the New York "journalists" with the interesting, intriguing, and unexpected news that Brian Cashman flew to California today to meet with Scott Boras to discuss clients. (Seriously, how the hell does a Boston sports journalist know this?) More specifically, Cash is there to make an offer on Derek Lowe. Let the Mark Texiera and Manny Ramirez rumors fly!