The only thing that makes sense here is that the economic reality is that there will be less money in the game and that players are going to get less. When companies feel a pinch, luxury boxes go, then advertizing gets cut, and that will cut into revenues for the teams. Individuals will change habits as well. Take the subway to the game rather than pay overpriced parking (or, if you’re a big shot, take a limo). Skip the $8 hotdogs and the $12 draft beers and the $10 scorecard (I’m using exaggerated numbers to illustrate the point). And the players will have to understand that, with people out of jobs, they can’t expect to keep earning the unreal amounts they’ve been making. That is what a market means — it’s been going up, up, up for a long time and now it’s going to go down, down, down, notwithstanding all Scott Boras’s efforts. He’d better let CC sign the Yanks’ offer if he doesn’t want to end up with enough egg on his face to make a classic NYC omelet.

One event that fits with this scenario is that Hal Steinbrenner is running the team. Hal is a bottom line guy who is going to try to run the team at a profit, as opposed to Hank whose motto was “whatever it takes.” Maybe they want Andy back, but it will be for one year and less money than some arbitrator would award based on the economics of before the market crash; ditto Bobby Abreu. This may be a signal to Boras and the other agents that the days of “the sky’s the limit” from the Yankees are over, and there isn’t another team or owner in the game who will.

The bottom line for us fans is that the free agent market may take some time to adjust. On the other hand, I don’t see any other team making an offer for CC that is close to what the Yanks put on the table. I for one have no doubt that Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner have a plan bosed on economically realistic assumptions and we have to wait and watch it develop.

By offering Abreu arb, his value would decrease as the buyer would have to surrender a draft pick. But it wouldn’t be negligible, so either he’d decline hoping for a multi-year deal (not a bad strategy for a guy turning 35) and the Yanks get the picks, or accept and the Yanks would have to pay him big for 1 year or come up with a longer offer at a lower rate. I agree with Dave that the 1 year would be preferable in this case.

Not a huge problem for the Yanks, but it would probably preclude getting Teixeira. And I’d like to see the Yanks get Teixeria. We’ve got no real prospects in our system for 1B – sorry, I don’t think Brandon Laird or Juan Miranda are sure things, and I don’t think in this climate Mr. Boras is gonna find a taker for a 10 year deal. It’s hard for me to believe the Red Sox are really interested in Tex with Youk and Lowell there now and their #1 prospect being a 1B at AA, but they do have the cash available. It seems to be us and the Angels eyeballing each other over the top 2 guys on the market.

So, the Yankees have already made Andy an offer, probably a reasonable one, as the Yankees don’t typically lowball players they want. Now there are rumors about LA, even though the only reason Andy doesn’t retire, is he wants to open the new stadium. But he turns down an offer from the Yankees?

It seems Andy is playing hardball.
And I guess the Yankees are too.

Does anybody think this decision was made by Cashman alone in a vacuum? That all FAs weren’t discussd and debated for many hours, between many people, before the decision was made? Cashman may have the final say so, but he listens to people around him. My guess is that Hal is behind this, and probably other members of the FO.

Andy WOULD have accepted arb.
Pudge probably would have.
Bobby may have.
So, this decision may have cost a few draft picks. However, I will reserve judgement until April.

Why don’t you temper the insults man?

Everyone is entitled to their opinions on here. childish insults are not effective or mature.

just offer a counter-argument and explain your logic…

that’s an interesting take…that the Yankees prevented themselves from taking advantage of arbitration because of the massive contracts they gave Andy, Abreu, Giambi, etc.

perhaps this will play into their decision making in the future.

I am convinced that if Andy and Abreu took the Yankees to arbitration, they would have ended up getting more in 2009 than 2008 and I’m sorry, but IMO, they both deserve decreases, Andy especially.

I still think, however, that re-signing Pettitte is crucial right now. If you can lock in three rotation spots, then that relieves at least SOME pressure, right?

no, you can’t just cut a player. you have to demonstrate that the player has shown a “failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability.”

so no, the Yankees could not just cut Abreu in Spring Training without a major grievance from the union.

it’s amazing how many experts we have all of a sudden.