Inside the war room with the Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 08, 2008 
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The Yankees, as you might expect, have a luxurious suite at the Bellagio. There’s a wet bar, a large conference table and another meeting area with a couch and two easy chairs. There were enough laptops to run an internet start-up company.
When we arrived at 3 p.m., Brian Cashman was meeting with Joe Girardi, assistant GM Jean Afterman, pro scouting director Billy Eppler, amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer and farm director Mark Newman, among others.
There was a large white board with important plans on it. At least I assume they are important because it was covered up when we were in there. The Yankees also had a wide variety of candy, chips and peanuts.
Sure, the execs get junk food and the players go without. That’s not right. No wonder Mike Mussina retired
Anyway, here are some of the more interesting comments Cashman had on CC Sabathia:
“He’s got a life choice to make that will direct where they will reside for the next however many years determined by the contract he decides to negotiate. He’s going through the process.”
On whether the Yankees would pressure him for a decision: “If you’re a marginal free agent or a low-end guy, you can speed the process up – from the club’s perspective — by pushing the envelope. With the premier free agents, all that’ll do is push them away.”
On Reggie Jackson’s involvement: “He went through the same (free agent) process at relatively the same age. He’s someone who came to New York, conquered New York and can give the perspective.”
(Slick move by the Yankees here. Mr. October lives in the Bay Area now. He was a free agent, went through ups and downs in New York and knows the terrain. Who better to talk to CC?)
On CC’s process: “We’re not being played, we’re not being manipulated, we’re not being used. I just think that he’s making an informed decision, and there’s a process that will take.”
I also spoke to Joe Girardi, who said the meeting with Sabathia went well on Sunday. He seemed heartened by the idea that CC was asking about the lifestyle in New York. CC and his wife have three kids, the latest coming seven weeks ago. Joe and his wife also have three kids.
Girardi explained to Sabathia that he encourages players to bring their sons into the clubhouse and to be around the team. He talked about his situation, living in Westchester and putting his kids in school.
In the end, it’ll be about the money. But the Yankees are pleased that Sabathia is asking the right questions. If the guy wasn’t serious about the Yankees, why did he ask for a second meeting? I don’t see the Steinbrenners letting the Dodgers get close.
———–
Meanwhile, wise-guy Cashman planted a remote-controlled whoopie cushion under one of the chairs (yes, it was mine) and tried to prank us. I honestly didn’t hear the noise, but he was having a good old time with it.
“I got it at CVS,” he said.
I wonder if he tried that with CC. I suspect not.
————
In other news, Ben Sheets is here and the Yankees have met with him. … Back later on with some more. But that will be it for a while. Don’t forget, there will be a live video chat at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Please tune in and ask questions.
Honest to God, I’m going to implode if Cashman keep saying Process
Someone should introduce Cashman to a thesaurus. He needs a new word for “process”.
Red Sox in the mix for Burnett
Monday, December 8, 2008 | Print Entry
Posted by Jerry Crasnick
The latest on A.J. Burnett: The pitcher’s agent, Darek Braunecker, and Mark Rodgers met with the Red Sox on Monday afternoon, and it appears Boston is right there in the mix with Atlanta and the Yankees for Burnett.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....tings_2008
Meanwhile, wise-guy Cashman planted a remote-controlled whoopie cushion under one of the chairs (yes, it was mine) and tried to prank us. I honestly didn’t hear the noise, but he was having a good old time with it.
“I got it at CVS,” he said.
I wonder if he tried that with CC. I suspect not.
——–
what a wise guy.
Time for the “process” drinking game
Red Sox are not a threat to us on CC. They’ve always had their sights on AJ. Even more so than on Tex.
I have a good feeling that if CC doesn’t get a legit offer from a West coast team before the end of the week, he’ll be introduced at a press conference early next week as “the newest member of the New York Yankees”.
Just for fun, let’s take a friendly poll as to when CC will be introduced as a Yankee. I say December 16th.
Good work pete…
Great, great stuff today Pete. Thanks.
The meetings seem to be heating up quite well.
Sox are a smart organization, that’s why.
Rather than investing $140 in a player who doesn’t want to be apart of their orginization, they get a cornerstone stud 1st baseman and a pitcher with an electric arm who kills his archrivals (NY and TB), both who want to be there.
The yanks have a Giant suite at the most expensive hotel in vegas and they are preaching cutting payroll. How about they spend 200 million and cut their own budget?
My guess for CC is that if we dont hear from him for another week, Hal forces cashman to give CC a deadline. And then, he accepts. Cashman has patience almost to a fault.
I wonder if we’ll get another Maybin and Miller for Cabrera and Willis type of deal by the end of the meetings? I haven’t even really heard a big name player outside of peavy who is out on the market.
Wow, a piece of news related to CC that mel didn’t spin to voice her hope that he ends up elsewhere… we must be getting close!
I dunno why the media think pavano would steer burnett away from here. He probably said – yea its great, they gave me 40 million dollars and i DIDNT even have to play. And bURNETT said- oh yea, can i do that? Im thinking about taking up a hobby outside of baseball. Pavano said – Of course, you can. i did it for almost 4 years and they didnt take away a dime. All you have to do is fake an injury or get an injury but its easier to fake one. Burnett says – oh thats a cinch. I am injured all the time and half the time I sit out its just because of pain. i can do that.
Great stuff today Pete. It does not get any better than you, every time i refresh the page a new article is up!
P.S. You should get Cashman back with a prank of your own!
well, if the Red Sox are going after Burnett and Teixeira, why can’t the Yanks go after Teixeira and Sabathia?
if money’s an issue, maybe they can cut a few corners – not have so many laptops in the hotel room, stay at a Days Inn, whatever – and spring for the best players. isn’t that the whole point, getting better players than the Red Sox?
Dave: I was envisioning pretty much the same conversation between Burnett and Pavano. Let the sox be the “smart team” and sign him for 5 years. He can’t kill us when he’s injured.
It’s not like Sheets isnt injury prone too, and I do want him, but the difference is his price tag reflects his injury proneness, Burnett’s doesn’t. Pavano’s didnt. Only fools make mistakes twice.
I hear teams are clamoring over Pavano.
If its all about the money – he will definitely be a yankee. i am REALLY just concerned that he would consider taking a pay cut to go to the west. And how much it would be. I wish cash would give us important information like an answer to that question. And deciding between 2 offers and gathering info about NY doesnt take a month – he is clearly waiting to hear what the angels, dodgers and giants will offer him. And if that takes a month for them to make him an offer – i have a feeling we may not hear the end of this for a month. I am just tired of hearing people spin it in terms of him making a decision when it feels far more like he is waiting for the west coast teams to make a decision regarding him. If he strings us along for another month and ends up not playing for us there are going to be some bitter feelings about this whole thing. It just seems like CC is taking advantage of the yankees at this point despite what cashman is saying. It has that exact vibe to it. Players rarely if ever get a record breaking contract and then, take their time to gather information. It is not a very believable excuse – sounds like a total front. bUT IS IT CC’s front to cashman or is it cashman’s front to us? Who knows? Cash could have used the same exact BS that CC used on him only hours before.
Great report ( as usual ) from Pete. It’s time for the NYY to focus directly on how to beat a pitcher like Burnett, the Rat Sox only interest in him is he beats the Yankees. Today’s technology can easily pinpoint & then enable them to exploit a weakness. Everybody has one & athletes, rather than the exception, would be simpler to attack in dynamic competition. It does require a flexible approach. But it can be done. This season, I want to see the superior mind of Northwestern grad Joe Girardi at work & in play. No more Stone Age ball. Don’t just buy bodies, buy brains too.
Am I the only one having a recurring nightmare where the music stops and Sabathia is in Anaheim’s rotation, Texiera is in Boston’s infield, and Burnett is on our disabled list?
I wake up screaming with the image of Manny making it rain Pinstriped dollars in every stripjoint in town while Sir Sid takes the ball on a Friday night in Fenway with Nick Swisher batting 3rd and Brett Gardner in CF.
“Sox are a smart organization, that’s why.
Rather than investing $140 in a player who doesn’t want to be apart of their orginization, they get a cornerstone stud 1st baseman and a pitcher with an electric arm who kills his archrivals (NY and TB), both who want to be there”
ahhh but if the yankees go after tex and burnett they are crazy because tex is all about the money and is destined to become complacent with a long term deal and burnett is a glorified pavano with an attitude problem, right??
*sarcasm much intended*
Yea clamoring over pavano. Who doesnt want a baseball player that never plays baseball. And the best part was that even when he was healthy he sucked.
BBB,
Exactly my point – Burnett and sheets are just as injury prone but Burnett is asking for 5 years and sheets is asking for 2 possibly. Id rather make a 2 year mistake than a 5 year mistake.
I agree about the yanks going after tex too. CC is really preventing us from making tex an offer. We may not have the money to do both or we may not want to tick off the angels but if tex signs before cc and CC goes to the west, CC will have prevented us from getting both of them. Thas why the deadline is needed. cc is actually acting to the yankees detriment by taking so much time – we need to know where the resources will be allocated. i HOPE CASH explained this and a deal is imminent but a timetable wasnt even set so I have to assume this is going to take FOREVER. Im so glad CC said earlier last month that he didnt want the process to drag out – imagine if he did. He wouldnt say until spring training i guess.
Nick,
Shall I forward you Cash’s text message?
Dave, exhale. The teams get a rate for the rooms. Also, the Wynn is much more expensive than the Bellagio.
The Yankees are paying a rate that’s cheaper than most 5 star NY hotels.
Horel rates aren’t subject to revenue sharing. Payroll is.
If you haven’t figured out by now why they are cutting payroll, you will never learn.
Take a deep breath and relax.
Never has someone written so much, and know so little, on this blog.
Let Cashman do his job. Whine AFTER it’s done.
Whining beforehand makes little sense.
“Am I the only one having a recurring nightmare where the music stops and Sabathia is in Anaheim’s rotation, Texiera is in Boston’s infield, and Burnett is on our disabled list?”
Doesn’t sound like a nightmare to me!!
let the sox sign burnett – he can become their headache. Why do you think burnett called up pavano? He wanted to see how to pull off a 40 million dollar heist without getting caught or getting in any trouble. Pavano was the best person to speak with. After Burnett gets his 5 year deal, we will probably never hear his name again unless it is mentioned in this worst signings of all time right next to pavano, Zito and igawa.
Plus the whole thing is sponsored by the Bank of America.
i noticed Bank of America is in the ‘Baseball Winter Meetings’ logo. scumbags – they’re getting bailout money.
Hahaha Cash Money with the JOKES!
Take a deep breath and relax.
Never has someone written so much, and know so little, on this blog.
————————————————————
Yahoo! A concise thought, who knew?
We’ve seen it all today now.
SJ needing to talk people down off the ledge about corporate room rates at hotels in vegas!
What has gotten into people. Hotel rooms?
If Cashman doesn’t open the salted mixed nuts on the counter and the $7 bottle of aquafina I’m sure they’ll be able to put in for that 9th year on the Tex deal.
No salted nuts = sign Tex.
That is as long as they don’t order the 3.99 pay per view showing of dark knight for the tenth time.
Hey, don’t knock the Bank of America, my brother-in-law works for them in Charlotte.
TAPR money is going to buy me a new pair of golf shoes for Christmas!
“Never has someone written so much, and know so little, on this blog.”
I believe that distinction properly belongs to trisha who insisted that Mussina was coming back and that last week something big was going to happen within 24 hours.
“Let Cashman do his job. Whine AFTER it’s done.”
i respect a lot of what Cashman’s done, but he did bring Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown, Pavano, Javy Vasquez. Ponson but no Paul Byrd as a 2009 stopgap. Boston’s been better run recently. let him do a better job, then no one will whine.
I am relaxed. I am just annoyed. Is it some sort of lohud blog code to personally offend someone when you disagree with what they write? Im sorry I did not know the going rates for hotels in vegas but that was a joke. A JOKE. I know spending less on hotel rooms has nothing to do with payroll. I was just kidding around. ive never even heard of the wynn though but i havent been to vegas in about ten years so i guess that makes sense. When i went, the bellagio was by far the most expensive hotel on the strip and possibly one of the most expensive in the country.
Randyhater….That was very good……..In-n-out,,,The best,,,SJ44 nice to have you back…..Trust me, you were missed…Randy I as well…..
As a Burnett supporter I was quite happy to read this article, posted on the Yanks website.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....Id=rss_nyy
Sox are a smart organization, that’s why.
Rather than investing $140 in a player who doesn’t want to be apart of their orginization, they get a cornerstone stud 1st baseman and a pitcher with an electric arm who kills his archrivals (NY and TB), both who want to be there.
-
Exactly. I have supported Cash but if it goes down this way then he has to go. If the Sox pull this off it will easily trump us getting CC.
I can hear Cash now saying we had a plan and we followed it and got our man while Theo comes away with the parts to get past the Rays and win another title.
Forget CC and go get Burnett and Tex already.
if boston gets burnett & tex it won’t matter what the yankees do.they will finish behind boston unless they really build a nice pitching staff 1-5 & fix the cf mess.
Real news of the day….Sabathia requesting a second meeting.
If he wasn’t interested, his recruitment would have ended yesterday.
Just gotta let it play out now.
I still think he ends up in NY.
CB,
Maybe I should explain to you why the nuts and teixera have nothing to do with each other. Or maybe I will realize that that was also a joke. Similar to my comment about the room rates. I know sarcasm doesnt translate well in a blog setting. Maybe i will write the words joke the next time I write something meant to be one.
Thank you Carolina Panthers and Bank of America stadium, I am La Taqueria-bound as a result. CC, if you’re still reading this, meet me there, my treat. You have 18 minutes.
Dave,
It was just a joke. And quite honestly – my comment wasn’t directed to you.
Several people have made comments about the yankees room expenditures in the last thread.
centpoker.com
There is nothing to get annoyed at. Nobody has signed anywhere yet.
Cashman just signed a new deal. He isn’t going anywhere.
Maybe thia puts me in the minority but I am more than happy to sit back and watch things play out, without spending a whit of angst about what does or does not happen. Why? Because I have no control over what will happen. Therefore getting pent up about it is a pure waste of energy!
Que sera sera.
140 million & no better offers should get a 2nd meeting.
thank god a west coast team hasn’t matched it or the yankees wouldn’t get one meeting.
* this
Sign Sheets and CC!!! Those two would be the best two additions the Yankees can make this off-season. Sheets has a injury history that can be argued to be the same if not better than Burnett’s and he wont get as many years or as much money…plus he has a much higher upside! CC, Wang, Sheets, Joba, Hughes//or//Pettitte is a nasty rotation both for next year and going into the future. Make this happen Ca$hman please!!!!!!!!!
hopefully the yankees get a cf.
i am just so sick of the red sox being ahead of us.
when is this agony going to end?
CB,
My comment to you was really directed at SJ. I was just trying to say that everything shouldnt be taken literally especially if it sounds ridiculous. i didnt read the comments about the rooms from the last thread.
The fact that CC is telling the yanks he is still gathering info while the clear reality to anyone observing this whole situation is that he is waiting to see if the west coast teams come close. i just dont like the whole vibe i get from this situation. Especially cash relaying CC’s gathering info stuff and his incessant use of the word process whenever he isn’s getting anything done. Cash has done well so far this off season and i wasnt complaining about him specifically. Its really this situation that CC is putting us in. We cant go after Tex because of him. And the idea that it could be possible for Tex to sign with boston, CC to go to LA and we are left with neither. Im sorry if you dont feel this way. I am just voicing my opinion.
Yankees better have plan “B”. Money can’t buy everything.
Ben Sheets is in Vegas ? Can they sign him and CC already
P.S. after Kei Igawa how is Jene Afterman here
the Braves might take a flyer on Igawa.
:shocked:
I’m going to bed, when I wake up tomorrow can we sign CC and AJ and be done with this ?
I can’t help thinking that Sheets + Tex > CC, especially considering the latter’s high workload and exorbitant price tag.
i would be very suprised if we didn’t have a new cf come st.
Sources say if the Yanks don’t get CC, it’s all Pete’s fault.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....gh_on.html
“the Braves might take a flyer on Igawa.”
Shocked ?, can it move any more ?
“I can’t help thinking that Sheets + Tex > CC, especially considering the latter’s high workload and exorbitant price tag.”
I know me too minus Tex
Per mlbtraderumors, Rosenthal said Red Sox just doing their due diligence with CC.
1 hour later, per the same site, Heyman reported that they talked parameters and there may even have been an offer. Talk about a steaming pile of crap.
Brandon
We’ve already played this game. Jean does not do player evaluation. She negotiates contracts. She can only be blamed for his contract not his talent.
the Sux can eat it!
pat,
Thanks for that. Sounds like CC is vested. Already has Girardi’s back.
lol on the last thread.
If yankee get CC, I guess CMW will win more than 20+ wins in 2009 beause of no more “ace pressure” add on him; if yankee do not get CC, we will see CMW start at new stadium for home opener. Both are good for yankee fans in Taiwan.
pat,
Let Brandon alone in his fantasy world, where Tex is a money whore and CC never turned down any extension offers.
Just kidding, Brandon!!!!
Heyman is good with Boras players but with everyone else a magic 8 ball is just as effective.
If money bought happiness CC would be signed.
bartap,
The problem is with the yanks allocating 140 mil of their resources to cc – they probably wont go after Tex right now. cc is basically holding up the works on both plan A and plan B by not making a decision. And gather information is such a BS line – he clearly will not come to NY if a west coast team presents a comparable offer. Hopefully hal who mentioned earlier that a timetable will be set if this goes on long enough will have the balls to make brian set a deadline because clearly cash will not. And despite what cash said about deadlines, it seems that this is the most relevant time to make one. low and mid teir free agents never hold up your entire off season or determine its course. CC does. And letting him take his sweet time works to our detriment because each day is another day a west coast team could enter the race. i think this is the only time a deadline makes any sense.
And why is Bill Madden so freaking annoying on this, everything I hear from Bill Madden is almost Peter Gammons-esque in Yankee negatives.
“If yankee get CC, I guess CMW will win more than 20+ wins in 2009 beause of no more “ace pressure” add on him; if yankee do not get CC, we will see CMW start at new stadium for home opener.”
what pressure? oh please. the bullpen blew some games for him 2 years ago.
“Just kidding, Brandon!!!!”
give a women a sense of humor and look at what happens
Jerzz – FYI, the chances of Boston getting Burnett and Teixeira are about as good as the odds of me getting tag teamed by two supermodels later tonight.
Rosenthal is a joke – he is the only payed writer that can contradict himself 10 times in the same article. I cant believe writing is his profession.
the yankees should of traded cano for kemp when they had the chance because now the rumor is cano won’t get kemp straight up.it will take one or two more players.
the dodgers finally wisening up.
CMW will win with or without CC. He rocks. If CC comes, he’ll prove he can win just as many games at 1/6th the cost.
**BLUE JAYS ARE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED IN PAVANO**
O’Connell says the Jays have significant interest in Pavano. Bastian also reports that J.P. Ricciardi did not deny that he’d listen on Alex Rios.
http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/a.....day_1.html
———
Good, let the Jays have their headache with Pavano. Free batting practice for the AL east!!
declineoptions,
SO YOUR SAYING THERES A CHANCE?!!
Maybe we should go back to talking about food?
the blue jays will get pavano for one million a year & he will win the cy young.
the yankees will sign sheets/burnett & they will be on the dl all year.
SJ thinks CC will end up with the Yanks — now I’m nervous.
durrr. If CC comes, CMW will prove he can win just as many games at 1/6th the cost.
Phil,
Why does that make you nervous? You want CC or not?
“Maybe we should go back to talking about food?”
but i have a nice dinner before. lol, cant eat anymore.
Bru,
I dont think they wisened up. i think Blake is very close to signing and they dont need cano as much as they did yesterday. I cant believe people keep saying this is a complete rumor when there is constant updates about the cano-kemp stuff from so many different media outlets and they always seem to be consistent with what the dodgers are doing at the time. Im sure these rumors have some legs to them -i just dont think those legs will ever take another step. There probably ask from something like AJax and that is the end of that. Im sure cano will have a comeback season next year though. His career is far from over.
“the yankees will sign sheets/burnett & they will be on the dl all year.”
Sheets/Burnett > Pavano.
the only person will be on the DL all year is Pavano.
Scroll down to see Coletti debunk the “CC told me rumor”.
But he did do it through 3rd parties.
http://www.insidesocal.com/dod.....notes.html
Ed,
What do you mean free batting practice for the AL east? The guy will never even step on the field.
mel-
CMW isn’t and ace. Plus, he has tender feet.
Takashi Saito may be non-tendered.
Boston to swoop in?
Mrs.Bru Kemp ?
mel, that ’1/6 of the cost’ thing is a canard, as we have explained previously. But what’s the same calculation for AJ?
“What do you mean free batting practice for the AL east? ”
it was a joke, like hehe haha!
“The guy will never even step on the field.”
HUH?
Phil,
Did I say CMW was an ace? And his feet are tender from being bound. just kidding!
Have you been paying attention? Over a 2.5 year span, CMW was the winningest pitcher in the AL. He can rack ‘em up with the best of them. And he’s been our de facto ace. Don’t be ungrateful for what he’s done.
dave
i agree but if we got kemp we don’t need ajax & if we pushed hard enough we can pull it off.
we need to compete now & if we have a chance to upgrade cf we should not wait for ajax.
if the dodgers don’t wan’t ajax & will take cano,melky i do it.i’d also do it for cano,ajax.
the red sox & rays aren’t going anywhere & our cf situation is not pretty.
if we can upgrade another way & keep cano i am all for it.
“Takashi Saito may be non-tendered.
Boston to swoop in?”
Saito was good before the arm problems, but sadly his arm has took a toll. It will take alot of faith for him to rebound back.
Nick,
WTH does a duck have to do with anything?
AJ would be about 7/10ths the cost.
Joba over a full season would be 1/46th the cost.
CMW made us Asians proud, although we don’t have the same nationality.
From an interview with Manny Acta.
Q. How is Nick Johnson progressing? Anything new on his rehab?
MANNY ACTA: Right now the doctors are assuring us that he’s going to be 100 percent by spring training.
Q. What’s kind of the level of activity he’s at right now?
MANNY ACTA: He’s swinging the bat.
“i agree but if we got kemp we don’t need ajax & if we pushed hard enough we can pull it off.”
keep dreaming.
Ed –
I meant that pavano wont be batting practice for the AL east because he will never step on the field.
Of course CC is still going to say he’s interested in the Yanks. He’s not stupid. He doesn’t want to lose that $140 offer. If the Yankees bailed, the Dodgers or Angels could offer 105/110 and that would be the highest offer on the table. Why lose the bargaining leverage? He wants his cake and eat it too.
If CC does opt for the Yankees he’s going to need a week of PR training to go over his NYC press conference answers. It won’t be pretty. The longer this drags out the worse it will be.
The media will ask seven ways to Sunday why it took so long? Does he really want to be here? Would he rather be in California? Is he just a mercenary? Would he rather be a Dodger? yada yada yada.
Pat -
I still blame the Mets for his collison toward the end of the 2006 season, when he was going to have a healthly free year.
mel, did you just pretend to not get the question? You said CMW’s wins would be 1/6 the cost of CC’s; what would the ratio be of CMW’s wins to AJ’s?
And what does your greater point have to do with anything anyway?
CMW has tender feet?
Speaking of tender-maybe I will get some chicken tenders tomorrow!
“I meant that pavano wont be batting practice for the AL east because he will never step on the field.”
what you mean he will never step on the field? he got to pitch right? so he will step on the mound, and the mound is part of the field.
Blame it on the “whoopie cushion,” Pete. We’re all friends here. The more I read about the pursuit of CC, the more I feel like we’re bribing him to come to NY. Here’s hoping the Dodgers sign Man Ram.
Nick,
I thought you meant AJ:CC.
Wang to AJ? 1/4th the cost. That’s $4M divided by $16M.
I gave this lecture before. CC, AJ, CMW, Joba. All capable of producing 15-20 wins if they pitch a full season.
bru,
We cant trade AJax in that deal – it isnt worth it. And pete said in his last post that if they sign blake, they dont need a second baseman anymore because their third baseman moves to second. Cano becomes a want instead of a need and they will ask for much more for kemp. it wont be worth it at all. AJax is one of our ONLY position players that has enough talent to start in the majors and he is a center fielder and he is probably a year away. Trading him now would be a HUGE mistake. And i think cano and ajax together is worth more than kemp – probably worth billingsley. I liked the cano for kemp deal and i liked cano and melky for kemp but they wont take that now. Its all over i bet. And it never would have happened anyway – all a pipe dream. If you want to upgrade in center look at some other trades for centerfielders that are available and guess what they would cost. Then, I might join the boat again because starting gardner in centerfield next year is a mistake and i think cashman knows it.
Ugh. SA. Chicken feet are a Chinese delicacy. Please. Yuck. Chicken & feet in the same post.
Ed,
There must be a miscommunication here. I meant pavano will never pitch because he will never step on the field because he will be on the dl the entire season. I thought it was clear because he was injured almost the entire four years he was here.
You did give the lecture before, but it has no practical application to the question of who the Yankees should sign to fill out the rotation unless there are cost-controlled Wang and Joba clones available on the free agent market.
And lots of pitchers are theoretically capable of doing things. The market decides which one the teams think are the most likely to do so.
Chicken feet are a Chinese delicacy. Please. Yuck. Chicken & feet in the same post.
———————————————————–
Chicken feet? Eek. Pass!
if the Yanks don’t get Teixeira, retain Petttite, and get 2 out of CC, Burnett, Lowe, Oliver Perez, then are they really trying to field a better team than Boston or Tampa?
that’s what true Yankee management would do. investing in talent has always been the Yankees business model since they bought the Babe. maybe someone in the war room can look that up on one of their laptops.
“Ugh. SA. Chicken feet are a Chinese delicacy. Please. Yuck. Chicken & feet in the same post.”
Mel -
I know you didn’t mean any harm with the post but I do admit that’s a fact. As for me, HELL NO I don’t eat it. Never did, never will. Feets isn’t part of my “things-i-eat” pyramid.
Dave,
oh okay. its cool.
I just finished a chicken taco, people, please!
Nick,
I merely said that CMW will win with or without CC on the Yankees.
He can go toe to toe with CC in the wins dept. He’s been doing his part for the last 2.5 seasons he played.
Twist it anyway you want, but I stand by what I say. If we don’t get CC, we still have a front-line pitcher. So everyone needs get off the freaking ledge. That’s all.
Sorry for the rant, but we have options. Yes, CC would be a boon. Not necessarily a coup because he’ll basically have no choice.
The current offer for AJ is 4 year at 60 million with a vesting option for a fifth which puts him at 75 million. it will take five years to get him or a drastic increase to the total price for four year. I dont mind the annual salary at this point but five years is too much for AJ “i only pitch well on my walk years” Burnett. if the yanks made it 75 million for 4 years, he would be making almost 20 million per year – that may be what Tex ends up making annually. Either way, that contract looks steep for the ten time dl zero time all star.
One question….why would anyone be worried that CC would sign with Boston? If he aint coming to NY he sure as hell isnt going to that craphole city. I could careless what heyman says about the sox and CC – its all a hsit storm.
im always a day late and a dollar short…
George,
wHAT ABOUT sheets? You mentioned oli perez but not sheets? Any mets fan will tell you that may be a mistake. And perez is a boras client.
FWIW, Nick, I think CC will end up being a Yankee. He’ll be sponsored by Subway and be nice and trim before his 30th birthday. It’ll help his fielding and improve his game. Win-win.
GB had a great punchline for Oli Perez too bad I can’t remember it.
**DODGERS SIGNED MARK LORETTA**
According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers agreed to terms with Mark Loretta on a one-year deal worth around $1.4MM tonight. He’ll take his physical on Tuesday.
——-
either as a utilty player, or a 2b or 3b?
“GB had a great punchline for Oli Perez too bad I can’t remember it.”
speaking of Perez, how did he end up being a type A?
You can squash Robi Cano leaving now. Bru is going to cry in his sleep.
I’m twisting stuff now, mel? Wha? I know that you stand by what you say, I was just trying to get clarification on whether what you said has anything to do with the matter at hand, which your “all these pitchers can do the same thing” statement coupled with your oft-stated antipathy to signing CC would suggest. If the thing that you said that you stand by was meant to be unrelated, no worries (no worries anyway, of course). Perhaps I missed something while I was out getting tacos.
And I have said nothing that’s a knock on CMW in any way; my affection for him has been duly (and photographically) documented.
I don’t *think* you mean to include me as one who’s on “the freaking ledge”, but I’m looking forward to CC and CMW being teammates.
p.s. did anyone else just see Peter Gammons fret about the Yankees “muddy[ing] the waters” and hurting the Sox’s chances to get AJ? Cracked me up.
“p.s. did anyone else just see Peter Gammons fret about the Yankees “muddy[ing] the waters” and hurting the Sox’s chances to get AJ? Cracked me up.”
I missed it did he say more ?
Oh Nick you mean CC/Wang/Sheets & maybe AJ
Brandon: are you upset that Wang isn’t going to pitch for the DR?
“You can squash Robi Cano leaving now. Bru is going to cry in his sleep.”
i bet he is now. lol
Mel-
He can go toe to toe with CC in the wins dept. He’s been doing his part for the last 2.5 seasons he played.
how can CMW go “toe to toe” with those soft, tender chicken feet.
The Yankees are seeking a long-term union with C. C. Sabathia, and conveniently, there is a wedding chapel in the Bellagio Hotel, the site of baseball’s winter meetings. After two sit-downs with Sabathia, the Yankees are more smitten than ever, although Sabathia left town Monday without a commitment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12.....ref=sports
———————————————————
More smitten than ever. The Yankees are in Love!
“speaking of Perez, how did he end up being a type A? ”
Ask our manager.
Nick-
where was Gammons whinning?
“Brandon: are you upset that Wang isn’t going to pitch for the DR? ”
Gammons was wining on ESPN, I’m sure it will come around when they replay their whole Winter Meetings Presented By Bank of America report. I missed the beginning of it.
whining, that is.
Wow I can’t believe the Nats are about to break the bank on Tex.
“Wow I can’t believe the Nats are about to break the bank on Tex.”
please sign with the Nats Asap!
Ed: how did the interview go ?
Gammons whining is usually preceded or followed by good news for the Yankees. Yippee!
**DODGERS SIGN CASEY BLAKE TO 3 YEAR/ $17M**
i just saw it on the ESPN crawl.
Vinny,
thanks for asking. I got the job but I have to go through training first for a week or 2.
Wouldn’t we prefer Tex sign with the Nats slowly, rather than ASAP, if that’s where he goes? I don’t want to see the Angels suddenly have reason to change their priorities.
“LAS VEGAS – While most of the attention in the Yankees’ universe is focused on CC Sabathia, the Bombers are preparing to make an offer to another free agent pitcher from Milwaukee in the next 72 hours.
According to a source, the Yankees will offer Ben Sheets a multiyear deal – most likely for two years in the $30 million range – before the winter meetings conclude on Thursday.
Sheets, a 30-year-old righthander who was one of the heroes of Team USA in the 2000 Olympics, declined arbitration this weekend, so he’ll cost the team that signs him a first-round pick in next year’s draft.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....or_fr.html
YES ! YES ! …etc
“Wow I can’t believe the Nats are about to break the bank on Tex.
please sign with the Nats Asap”
be careful what you wish for, bro. If Tex signs with any team besides Anaheim, io expect CC will be a Angel.
side note: anyone ever seen Arte Moreno and Walt Disney in the same room?? jus thinkin
“thanks for asking. I got the job but I have to go through training first for a week or 2.”
kewl kewl. You asked for a miracle, and received one. : )
hahaha, vinny-b, I beat you to it AGAIN!
Nick,
true, hopefully the Yanks and Nats net their targets at the same time, same minute. a win win for the Yanks and the Nats.
“According to a source, the Yankees will offer Ben Sheets a multiyear deal – most likely for two years in the $30 million range”
wondeful news, if he signs. A 2-year contract would provide all the incentive needed, to keep him on the field.
“hahaha, vinny-b, I beat you to it AGAIN”
touche
Ed, that would work for me too. And congrats on the job.
“kewl kewl. You asked for a miracle, and received one. : )”
lol, i know. Miracles do happen! So I wonder if CC and Sheets signing with the Yanks is part of the miracle I’m also asking for.
Nick,
thanks bro.
CC
Wang
Sheets
Pettitte
Joba & friends
Looks good on paper, doesn’t it?
“lol, i know. Miracles do happen! So I wonder if CC and Sheets signing with the Yanks is part of the miracle I’m also asking for. ”
You I promised the baseball gods I’d go to my future mother in law’s house for X-mas, I’m sacrificing more for this to happen.
“CC
Wang
Sheets
Pettitte
Joba & friends”
yes it do. NYY would only lose a game, when Sheets makes his stop(s) on the DL.
That’s a lineup that can even carry our Swisher-ific lineup, right?
Right?
:::::crickets:::::
I meant rotation. Darn, screwed up my own joke.
Congrats on the new(?) job Ed!
I’m going to be **honest** here for a bit. If the Cubs do **nontendered** Chad Gaudin, I hope Cashman will go after him as a #4 starter. Gaudin has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter. He pitched in the AL east (with the Rays and Jays) but he was sent up and down without given any chance. He pitched 199 innings with the A’s, which he could give us innings too.
CC
Wang
Sheets
Gaudin
Joba & ppl
Looks good too.
SA,
thanks, and Yeah its a new job.
“That’s a rotation that can even carry our Swisher-ific lineup, right”
that’s a rotation, which would survive Bobby Meachem hitting cleanup.
I appreciate your bold honesty, but I still want to see Andy back. I’m too sentimental. But I think he can bounce back in 2009 and it’s not like he was awful in 2008.
“You I promised the baseball gods I’d go to my future mother in law’s house for X-mas, I’m sacrificing more for this to happen.”
LOL, don’t you have to go there either way?
Nick,
What you call “clarification”, I call nitpicking. If this were middle school, I’d be in trouble. Because you actually pay attention to me.
CC
Wang
Sheets
Pettitte
Joba & friends
———————————–
Is Igawa one of Joba’s friends? If not, I think we have a winner.
Nick,
I totally understand but if Cashman doesn’t talk to Pettitte again so there would be options to Cashman look at.
SA,
the Braves might take a flyer on Igawa in the Rule 5 draft.
Ed really? There is a Santa Claus!
“the Braves might take a flyer on Igawa in the Rule 5 draft. ”
If this happens I’ll sacrifice one football Sunday for wifey. Anything she wants.
mel, all kidding aside, you are one of my top-fave commenters on here, so you know that when I –pick on– engage you it isn’t the same as when I –pick on– engage… someone who isn’t a top-fave commenter.
Anyway, if you had left it at “Hey, don’t knock Wang, he’s great too, he will be a great pitcher for us!” there would have been no nits to pick, but you got into all that comparitive-win-cost stuff and that “any of these guys can win lots of games” stuff and… well, you know.
There’s only one back-to-back Warren Spahn Award winner available this year, right?
SA,
Yep, Santa Claus still needs to give us that big gift we been asking for. hehe
“If this happens I’ll sacrifice one football Sunday for wifey. Anything she wants.”
but football season is ending soon. lol so you not really giving up much.
Have the Braves entered into a marketing partership with the Nippon Ham Fighters?
**RED SOX INTERESTED IN PETTITTE!!**
According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox expressed interest in free agent lefty Andy Pettitte. Could Pettitte cross enemy lines in 2009? For now Massarotti says the Red Sox have simply kicked the tires, as they seem to do with most interesting free agents.
————-
Ok now the Yanks got to resign Andy.
““Wow I can’t believe the Nats are about to break the bank on Tex.”
please sign with the Nats Asap!”
Ed- you do know that Tex signing with the Nats basically makes CC a lock for the Angels. Also stop hawking Gaudin hes not that good. 5th starter at best better suited as a long man.
Nick,
Whatever.
Brandon,
I thought you had a GF?!?
“you do know that Tex signing with the Nats basically makes CC a lock for the Angels.”
as a joke, I said before have the Yanks and Nats sign their targets at the same time, same minute.
update >>>
mel
December 9th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Nick,
Whatever.
Brandon,
I thought you had a GF?!?
————————————————————
Since when is a guy not allowed to have both?
Brandon,
I thought you had a GF?!?
—————
It’s a slang term yes she is my GF for 3 yrs. now. I still can’t stand her mother.
“Ok now the Yanks got to resign Andy.”
Not really, Andy didn’t pitch well last season if we don’t think he that effective then that’s it.
Brandon,
Whew. I was going to call you a dirty dog!
update >> update >>
“Brandon,
Whew. I was going to call you a dirty dog!”
Go thing you didn’t know me as a freshmen/Jr. in highschool
I’d rather have Burnett . .he can pitch in the AL EAST . . i
When Greg Maddox was a free agent, the Yankees went all out for him. They courted him even wined and dined him in New York. Does history repeat itself? Only Sabathia will answer that. But this surely looks like a replay of Maddox.I hope the Yankees have a plan B.
Pete — The whoopie cushion gag probably means that Cash is loose and confident, a good sign. Thanks for reporting it; the fact that you could tell the story partially on yourself lets us all feel as if we are there with you. Be thankful it wasn’t a hotfoot & good luck getting even!
“The more I read about the pursuit of CC, the more I feel like we’re bribing him to come to NY.”
Hmm… maybe you should read more about the pursuit of CC. 50 articles by tomorrow, report back to this blog with your findings. we’ll make an educated and reasoned decision about whether the Yankees are bribing CC.
Awww, I see Youk the groupie needed to mention my predictions. Well, loser, (you don’t mind me calling you that do you?) try getting your facts straight before you try to dis a Yankee fan on a Yankee site.
1. I never said something was going to happen in “24 hours”
2. I never insisted Mussina was coming back.
Looks like you’re a two-time loser on that one!
Was it really a whoopie cushion, Pete, or did you just chow down too many burritos with extra beans & habanero sauce?