The Bronny Cash School of Management

The Yanks signed CC for a reported 7 years and $160M. On the plus side, there can no longer be any discussion of whether the Yankees have an ace. We know have two. But I can't help but notice the extra year and $20M. I guess you have to do what you have to do. The other thing I can't help but notice is that the Yankees are now willing to best Atlanta's offer to Burnett. So I must ask, how sever is Cash's drinking problem? I mean, I know that attractive waitresses in skimply outfits walk around the floors of Las Vegas casinos with free booze for the big players, but Cash has to lay off. Burnett? Really? Go for Lowe, he'll be healthy and eat up innings (think Pettitte without the PED scandal). Consider Sheets and Pettitte as well. But don't get pavanoed a second time Bronny, that's not a good look. Lordavmercy!

Post Reports Sabathia Signing

According to the New York Post, Sabathia has agreed to sign with the New York Yankees. Cashman's abrupt trip to California last night would have been hard to explain otherwise. Although it may seem premature since the Yankees have not announced anything, the Post tends to be very well connected, and the article was by Joel Sherman who is a veteran writer. I don't think he would throw it out there unless he had some confirmation.

This is of course big news for the Yankees since this was the piece that needed to fall into place. You can now expect the other free agents to go quicker. Cashman has met with several free agent pitchers including Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe, AJ Burnett, and of course Andy Pettitte. It is rumored that Sheets has been offered a 2 year, $26 million contract by the Yankees, and it has been said that the Yankees are willing to go 5 years with Burnett, a huge mistake in my opinion. They are also said to be willing to go 4 years with Lowe. Assuming the Yankees bring back Pettitte, they realistically just need to bring one more pitcher into the fold. However, if they land Sheets, I would feel more comfortable if they brought in someone else. I think Lowe should be the target at this point, because Burnett is a frequent flier on DL airlines. Lowe at his best is not better than Burnett at his best, but I am way more confident that Lowe will pitch the length of his contract with minor problems where I expect Burnett to pull a Pavano, who is the current CEO of DL airlines.

Update 10:36am - Fox news is reporting that the deal agreed to was for 7 years and $160 million.

Um Um, Those Words Taste Good

It seems that just when Sabbathia had his master plan to shop his Yankee offer to the Giants, the Giants said they weren't really that interested and Sabbathia saw the writing on the wall. It appears he will likely sign with the Yankees (I hope this isn't premature, then I'll have to eat this post too), based on the fact that Bronny C hastily abandoned Las Vegas to fly his arse over to Cali to meet with CC and company. So fine, Cashman was right not to pull the offer. Good for him, I hope he feels good about himself for making me look bad on account of my impatience (it's really just New York patience). I hope ninjas ransack his room while he's away and that he gets stuck with the bill for the damages.

Am I Missing Something Here?

Probably. But the Mets just signed K-Rod for 3 years and $37M, essentially $12M a year for a top five closer. Why wouldn't the Angels try to keep him if that's the going rate? Did K-Rod slap Arte Moreno in the face as he left the clubhouse on the last day and yell, "I'm rich $!#@#"? Don't know for sure, but it seems you'd want to keep a guy that good at that rate when you have Angels money. Does this suggest that the Angels are wrapping up all or most of their spending in the Teixeira chase? Doesn't bode well for CC.

I Like the Way You Think

"It's embarrassing. Have some dignity!"
- Mike Francessa of WFAN, 12/09

Mr. Francessa has been railing all day about how stupid the Yankees are being. He thinks it is clear that the Yanks are being played and embarassed by Sabbathia, and that the Yankees should pull the offer instead of letting him shop it around to the Giants. Pete Abe, perhaps playing the voice of reason, thinks that it is fine for Sabbathia to take as much time as he wants. Abe is right about that, but that isn't the issue. The issue is whether the Yanks should let Sabbathia use their offer to get a deal he likes more from another team. The answer is no. If he wants to play for New York, he can look for offers elsewhere and then come back and see if we're still willing to talk. But I think, at this point, if Sabbathia signs here, he is in for an A-Rod type of relationship with the fans. If he even sort of messes up the fans will turn on him, because the perception, by and large, in NY, is that he doesn't want to be here and that if he does sign it is only for the money. If I'm Bronny, I pull the deal and sign Lowe and maybe a short term contract for Sheets. If Sabbathia realizes that no other offers he likes are forthcoming, he can come back and I sign him for more than his next best offer but I don't give him the original $140M. Sure, it's spiteful and unnecessary but it keeps costs down and Sabbathia had his chance for $140. I think I'll be calling Bronny later tonight.

Winter Meetings Are Never This Boring

Whenever they have the Winter Meetings, and not much news is coming out, it leaves reporters, internet authors, blog writers, and people on the streets doing the same thing: making crap up. Yes, this is the time of year for the most ridiculous trade rumors, and of course, free agent rumors the imagination can contrive. Yesterday, we wrote about the potential Cano for Kemp trade that had been discussed, but both teams have since then denied that that talk ever took place. However, today a new set of rumors are floating around including a 2-year $30 million offer from the Yankees for Ben Sheets. Further more, this article reports that the Yankees are ready to go full throttle after AJ Burnett, which means surpassing the 4 year $60 million deal the Braves have offered him. If these two things happen to be true, then I think the Yankees have to finish what they started. Why stop at Sheets and Burnett? Let's resign Pavano. We could also probably snag Mark Mulder, Mark Prior, and Matt Clement for pretty cheap too. Let's get Jaret Wright back on the team while we're at it. I bet you anything that rotation doesn't pitch a combined 100 innings.

In non-rumor news, Goya and the Yankees are running a food drive at the stadium to help those in need throughout the Bronx. If you're in New York, 25 pounds of non-perishable food, or a $25 donation will get you a voucher for two free tickets to a non-premium April-May home game. Not a bad way to ensure cheap tickets to the new stadium, and make sure someone doesn't go hungry this winter.

Interesting Turn of Events

If we are to believe the account given to Pete Abe by Bronny Cash regarding his meeting with Sabbathia then it seems CC may finally be coming to terms with the reality of the situation. There is no west coast contract out there for him. Our reporters in Vegas are also reporting that CC is very worried about being seen as a Panda Jerk, he couldn't handle that. Being married, I know you only start asking questions about quality of life for your family when you are seriously considering moving somewhere. So, either CC is realizing the Yankees offer is not going to be topped nor matched by anyone else, or he's really going all out in order to buy time. I suspect it's the former. It's hard to be that devious without anyone from RJG advising you, and I can vouch that we're not. We shalt see what happeneth.

What's With All The Cowards?

We always here athletes talk about how they want to compete, and beat the best, and blah, blah, blah. But it seems that, lately, in baseball, all we have are players who don't want to play in the AL (see Peavy, Jake; or Sabbathia, Captain Crunch). I don't get it. Why not want to pitch in the tougher league against the tougher competition. Afraid everyone will realize you suck? I suspect that's the case with Peavy. Sabbathia may just want to pitch close to home, but then say so and let the Yankees be on their way. Right now the Yankees are that friend of the hot girl in high school that she keeps around just in case, even though she'll probably never run out of jocks to date, but he's dumb enough to hold out hope anyway. I just don't get this whole "I don't want to pitch in the AL" thing.

Cano to Dodgers for Kemp?

The latest of hot stove rumors is that the Dodgers are interested in one Mr. Robinson Cano and a Mr. Melky Cabrera. The idea is that the Dodgers, probably prompted by Torre, are interested in Cano and Melky, and would trade outfielder Matt Kemp for those two players. The Yankees could then go on to sign Orlando Hudson to play second base. I'm not sold on the idea. Matt Kemp had a good season last year and looks very promising, but last season was his first full season in the majors. Kemp batted .290 with 18 homeruns and 76 RBI's in 2008. Cano batted .271 with 14 homeruns and 72 RBI's, during the worst season of his career. Cano never takes a walk, but he only struck out 65 times in 597 at bats. Kemp struck out 153 times compared to his 46 walks. Kemp looks like he'll develop into a great player, but so does Cano, and it would be a shame to watch the Dodgers reap the benefits of all the work Cano is putting in this off season. I suppose that the combination of Kemp and Hudson would better our team even at the loss of Cano, but when you're thinking about needing two players to replace the one you have, it just doesn't seem worthwhile.

Another Panda Jerk: Cashman

It's time to pull the Sabbathia offer, Bronny. You're making us look stupid, panda jerk! You let this guy sit on the offer for a month, meanwhile, his agent is just shopping it around trying to find something better from another team. Not $40M better, but just a little better, so his client can go play in the NL. If he signs for $110 and an an opt-out clause with the Brewers or Giants, that's on you Bronny. Don't be a panda jerk. Pull the offer, blow Lowe out of the water, give Pettitte his money, and figure out your fifth starter internally or by trade (under no circumstances sign Burnett, since he'll get hurt and you'll just have to figure out your fifth spot internally or by trade). Playtime's over. Time to move on.