They got Swisher which is a great replacement for steroid boy. Now we need to get CC.

11/15/2008 11:23:09 AM

if CC goes to the Bronx, I hope he turns out like Pavano

11/15/2008 11:29:28 AM

Well I don't believe any player could ever blow up that badly again. All the Yankee haters can do is hope :-)

11/15/2008 12:03:58 PM

It's official! CC to the Yanks!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3759182

So the rotation will look like this:

CC
Wang
Lowe/Burnett (hopefully Lowe)
Joba
Hughes

If Pettitte resigns, he'd replace Hughes obviously. I don't know. I can very easily get myself excited about that rotation (knocks on wood for everyone to stay healthy this year).

edit: the story has updated to say it's not "official" yet, but there are "no major roadblocks" to a deal. I promise it said the deal was done when I first linked it.

[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 8:46 AM. Reason : ]

12/10/2008 8:21:47 AM

Ah the yankees - trying to buy their way to another world series.

I'd be surprised if they can sign Burnett also. If they do and he stays healthy and Wang/Joba are healthy, then they have a dynamic 1-4 with a bunch of inning eaters which will make the bullpen that much stronger.

He's hoping CC follows in the steps of Pavano. CC will eventually have to do something about his weight as he approaches his 30s.

12/10/2008 9:48:55 AM

I love CC, but I hate the Yankees

hopefully he wins every game he pitches next year except for when they play the Indians

12/10/2008 9:56:27 AM

^^ They've never bought their way to a World Series.

Since they started signing big-time free agents all the time, they haven't won.

Check the roster of the 2000 champs.

And besides, why SHOULDN'T they sign free agents they want? Boston does it. The Angels do it. There's no rule against it.

12/10/2008 9:59:58 AM

Sweet! This gives me something to be hopeful for in the spring. It would just figure that the Yankees finally kick some ass again after I move out of the city...

12/10/2008 10:01:05 AM

yay for raising ticket prices even more to cover CC's salary!

good thing for the Yankees that they're unveiling a new stadium, so every game will be a sell-out regardless of how skyhigh the tickets are

12/10/2008 10:27:28 AM

Is there a press release or info stating that they're increasing their ticket prices?

I remember once I went to a Nats game in DC. Every single ticket for sale was exactly half the price of comparable tickets at Yankee Stadium. Made me LOL.

Tim, you'd never in a million years go to Yankee games on the regular, so whats the difference to you

12/10/2008 11:20:30 AM

Quote :

"And besides, why SHOULDN'T they sign free agents they want? Boston does it. The Angels do it. There's no rule against it."

ideally everyone should be able to sign the free agents they want. that's why this shit with sabathia makes me furious. here you had a guy who legitimately seemed like he wanted to play close to home. the yankees come in and offer him a contract that is so far and above anything anyone else can afford. someone please explain to me how this is fair. it's not like they're beating other teams out because they're better negotiators or something.

they're also allegedly still in contention to get one of either derek lowe or aj burnett. neither player is worth the money the yankees will give them, but they'll just throw more money at them than any other team can afford. i don't care if you've been a yankees fan your whole life. look at this from the point of view of every other team and think about how it feels.

the icing on the cake is that the yankees asked for $400,000,000 in public funding to pay for the new stadium, and here they are throwing $160,000,000 at sabathia plus whatever else they pay for this offseason. there has to be a salary cap in baseball. this shit is getting out of control.

[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 12:39 PM. Reason : .]

12/10/2008 12:38:47 PM

Fuck the Yankees

12/10/2008 12:40:28 PM

Quote :

"there has to be a salary cap in baseball. this shit is getting out of control."

I don't disagree.

12/10/2008 12:41:05 PM

160 Million is so much damn money. It has to irritate the fans a little bit to be paying these unbelievable salaries.

12/10/2008 12:41:06 PM

up to 161M now

12/10/2008 1:19:42 PM

up to 161M now

[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 1:20 PM. Reason : double post just in case it goes up to 162M in the next half hour]

12/10/2008 1:19:42 PM

Jesus, the Yankees are throwing around millions like they are George Washington's at a titty bar.

And a salary cap in baseball is a terrible idea IMO. The sport is inherently set up for small market teams with good management to compete and beat anyone. Because of the 6 year arbitration/free agency rules and the wide use of farm systems good management will always be able to hang with those who just throw $$$. And they can do it consistently (see Minnesota).

12/10/2008 1:43:12 PM

^ I also don't disagree with that. I can see both sides, and I don't feel strongly either for or against a salary cap.

Obviously, money doesn't equate to championships directly or else NY would have won a time or two since 2000. I won't argue with you that it certainly helps. But Oakland and Minnesota for several years and Tampa last year have all managed to succeed with payrolls a fraction the size of NY and Boston.

12/10/2008 1:54:58 PM

i know that the yankees never won a world series after 2000 despite how much money they threw around, but they still won the AL east from 1998 til 2007 largely because of the talent they were able to buy. all i can hope for now is that they lose a bunch of draft picks by signing all these free agents and their already average farm system ends up in shambles in a few years.

12/10/2008 2:05:51 PM

The Yanks should think about just eliminating their farm system. It is obvious they don't need it. Save money and buy more free agents.

However they are saving a crap ton with Mussina and Giambi (maybe Bobby A.) leaving town

12/10/2008 2:31:46 PM

The chatter I am hearing in the Yankee blogs and from the beatwriters is:

The Yankees want Rick Ankiel to play CF, and have offered a package centered around Ian Kennedy.

The Bombers are also close to deals with Sheets, Burnette, and Lowe....and basically the first two to accept get their money, and the 3rd gets his offer withdrawn.

12/10/2008 2:34:41 PM

Haha, what the fuck? Three new pitchers all on multi-year deals. Good grief... must be nice to have no consciences and/or budget.

Kennedy in a deal for Ankiel? Do the Memphis Red Birds need an extra mid-rotation arm or something?

12/10/2008 3:58:35 PM

^ If they really get three of the top four FA starting pitchers, then that is just insane.

Fuck the Yankees. Go Rays.

12/10/2008 4:03:26 PM

Fuck the Rays for changing their name to just "Rays" b/c it offends ppl

12/10/2008 7:11:54 PM

^ was that the reason? "devil" always sounded stupid as hell anyways. fuck the rays for ever having it in their name period. let's hope they win the division again next year though

12/10/2008 8:01:12 PM

The Yankees have aquired Mike Cameron from the Brewers for Melky Cabrera, pending physicals.

12/11/2008 9:18:19 AM

AJ next....that would make it game on, and the Yanks could compete again.

12/11/2008 6:40:19 PM

CC & AJ - It's all good in the NYY hood baby.....Buck Foston

Manny is next :-)

12/13/2008 9:23:49 AM

I hope the Cardinals don't trade with this piece of shit organization.

12/13/2008 11:09:41 AM

Ha Cameron for Melky.....GG Yanks on continuing to be the oldest team in the majors.

And if you ask me, AJ Burnett=Carl Pavano part 2......a good but not great pitcher who is always hurt.

12/13/2008 1:26:46 PM

Quote :

"CC & AJ - It's all good in the NYY hood baby"

keep on overpaying for free agents and giving up those draft picks. hope it's worth it when the farm system runs dry

Quote :

"Buck Foston"

that's the gayest thing i've ever heard

12/13/2008 2:20:00 PM

Rat Soup - you are a n00b so no one cares what you think - 26 World Championships later -

12/14/2008 11:27:33 AM

packboozie - I don't like that trade either. I never though Cameron was all that great, but I disagree with you on AJ. He clearly isn't Pavano, and if you look at his numbers over the last 4 years they are comparable of better than a lot of starters in the majors...
Avr Game Starts = 28
Avr Inn Pitched = 183

What the Yankees need more than anything else is innings pitched out of their starters. With a rotation of Sabathia, Wang Burnett, Chamberlin & Pettiet or Hughes they should get that. If they do get Pettiet they can use Chamberlin as the set up man for Riveria.

12/14/2008 11:38:14 AM

Here are your top 10 in pitches thrown in 2008:

1. CC Sabathia, (3814)
2. Tim Lincecum, (3682)
3. AJ Burnett, (3650)
4. Matt Cain, (3606)
5. Johan Santana, (3598)
6. Roy Halladay, (3560)
7. Gil Meche, (3555)
8. Justin Verlander, (3528)
9. Bronson Arroyo, (3436)
10. Ervin Santana, (3428)

Here are the top 10 from 2007 (note how most spent time injured in 2008):

1. Carlos Zambrano (3689).
2. Dan Haren (3635).
3. Jake Peavy (3610).
4. Scott Kazmir (3609).
5. Aaron Harang (3590).
6. C.C. Sabathia (3581).
7. Gil Meche (3578).
8. Daniel Cabrera (3563).
9. Dontrelle Willis (3491).
10. Jeff Francis (3485).

Have fun, Yanks!

12/14/2008 11:41:33 AM

Quote :

"packboozie - I don't like that trade either. I never though Cameron was all that great, but I disagree with you on AJ. He clearly isn't Pavano, and if you look at his numbers over the last 4 years they are comparable of better than a lot of starters in the majors... Avr Game Starts = 28 Avr Inn Pitched = 183 What the Yankees need more than anything else is innings pitched out of their starters. With a rotation of Sabathia, Wang Burnett, Chamberlin & Pettiet or Hughes they should get that. If they do get Pettiet they can use Chamberlin as the set up man for Riveria."

his average starts is 28 in 4 years because you included 2 of the 3 seasons in which he actually managed to start more than 30 games out of 10 years in the majors. for that same reason his average innings pitched is also higher because of the sample size. he managed to stay healthy last year but still only had a barely better than average ERA+. he doesn't deserve the kind of money he's getting because he's really just a better than average pitcher who can't stay healthy. giving that guy a 5 year deal was stupid.

12/14/2008 2:25:50 PM

Quote :

"Source: Teixeira, Yanks agree to 8-year deal ESPN.com Updated: December 23, 2008, 3:28 PM ET * Comment * Email * Print Free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira has reached agreement with the New York Yankees on an eight-year contract worth more than $170 million, a source involved in the negotiations tells ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. The Yankees swooped in on Teixeira on Tuesday when it was believed the Boston Red Sox or the Washington Nationals were the likeliest of his future employer. The Red Sox's offer was believed to be in the range of $170 million, and the Nationals reached out with an offer perhaps greater than that of Boston."

12/23/2008 3:32:33 PM

BASEBALL

SALARY

CAP

12/23/2008 4:14:01 PM

I'm loving this offseason Yanks.

12/23/2008 5:57:15 PM

can't wait to watch 'em miss the playoffs

12/23/2008 8:01:15 PM

Quote :

"BASEBALL SALARY CAP "

The Yankees payroll has gone down by 20 million since last season, even with these guys signing.

12/23/2008 8:09:28 PM

more money spent, more playoffs missed

12/23/2008 8:12:13 PM

even if the Yankees go on to win the title next year, so what? you bought a championship. congrats.

12/23/2008 9:50:48 PM

my biggest problem with the Yankees isn't their yearly salary... its how they can get all the best available free agents because they offer the longest and most ridiculous contracts that nobody can say no to

[Edited on December 23, 2008 at 10:00 PM. Reason : .]

12/23/2008 9:59:59 PM

All you Yankee haters keep on crying I love it !!!

12/23/2008 10:14:30 PM

LOL because sports would be so much fun if only LA, Chicago, and NY had teams

12/23/2008 10:22:05 PM

^^crying?? about what?

what have the yankees accomplished in the last 8 years?

we love this shit

12/23/2008 11:23:11 PM

^ I think they lost in the first round once or twice? right? or did they even do that? If I was spending that much money, I would be furious at no success over 8 seasons...

12/24/2008 12:37:38 AM

I am actually happy now. It will just make the Yanks losing that much sweeter.

12/24/2008 12:40:31 AM

While I'm not a Yanks fan, I have a hard time believing all these people in here bashing the Yanks for these signings would be saying the same thing if it was their team who made the signings.

[Edited on December 24, 2008 at 12:50 AM. Reason : this =/= these]

12/24/2008 12:49:49 AM

This kinda of reminds me of what Detroit did last offseason. Will the Yankees be better more than likely, will they choke in the playoffs probably. Congrats on signing players to long contracts hope they aren't busts, Texeira won't be but the jury is out on overpitched CC and Burnett. Guess Hank figures why build prospects when you can throw money at the problem.

12/24/2008 12:58:29 AM