Sabathia is smart to take his time
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 09, 2008 
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Based on my e-mails, many of you seem quite impatient with Mr. Sabathia.
Can somebody explain why? A player waits six years to become a free agent, six years of basically working for under the market rate. For a player like Sabathia, the Indians and Brewers benefited greatly from his services at a relatively low cost.
Now he’s a free agent. It’s a time he and his agents have been preparing for. To date, Sabathia has two offers.
So he should just take the first offer?
You go into a car dealer and pick out a car. The dealer says “This car costs $40,000 and I refuse to negotiate.”
What are you doing then? Pulling out your checkbook? Probably not. You go look for a better deal. If you can’t find one, you can always go back.
Spring training starts in two months. Not two weeks. Sabathia realizes he needs to pick a team. But why would he not give the market a chance to develop?
This is what I always ask people: What if your son was in the same position? Would you counsel him to take less money than what his value could be? Look at it this way: Sabathia played last season for $11 million. That’s the same salary Carl Pavano received.
Pavano got his through free agency. Now this is Sabathia’s chance. It would be irresponsible and stupid of him not to take his time with this decision.
What i find alarming is the yanks lack of aggressiveness in the Tex market.
This guy is 28/29 and is a prototypical guy their org is trying to develop in them minors. Patience , Defense, Athleticism.
We all know pitching is a need, but we are all in this long term. Next year Damon, Matsui, Nady are all gone. It leaves us with A-Rod and a very old Posada as our offensive fulcrum. Right now there is no one who is even in the same stratosphere as Texiera out there next year.
We need another cornerstone on offense. Along with the pitching. The money is there. It’s not like Texiera is a one hit wonder.
Let Sabathia take all the time he wants. Let him sit out a year and figure it out for all I care. The point is that the Yankees have to eventually start shaping their roster for next year and can’t just wait for him to figure it out.
The Yankees have to come away with either Sabathia or Texeira. If they blow any chance at Texeira because they spent their time holding a candle for Sabathia, it will be a failed offseason.
Thank you Pete. I swear, some of these Yankee fans have gotten so interested in seeing All Stars at every posistion, that they think of the Free Agent market the way teenagers do when they play video games.
We have 2 months til spring training. Give the man some time.
And not having overpaid allstars at every posistion can be a good thing, just ask any other team that won the world series this decade.
If Texiera goes to the East coast then the Angels will come into the bidding for CC, so who goes first Tex or CC?
I just can’t help but think Sabathia will be playing for either San Francisco or the Dodgers next year.
He has expressed several times how much he like hitting. Once he said on the Dan Patrick Show that he would rather hit a walk-off homer than throw a no-hitter.
Also, it has been well-publicized that he wants to be on the west coast.
My gut is telling me that the Yanks aren’t going to get him.
Arggg!! I hate it when you’re the voice of reason, Pete!
I disagree Pete . There a difference between taking your time and Stalling !
He knows the deal . .He’s not going to get a better offer than the Yankees ! . If he wants to stay out west . Fine .. but let the Yankees know so we can head to plan B
Pete:
The suggestion here is that someone else is going to top the Yankees current offer. That’s not going to happen.
Thank you, Pete. Any chance you can call the moron on WFAN and explain this to him? I had to turn him off today with all the whining he is doing on the subject.
“He doesn’t understand what the Yankees are! I don’t want him. Get lost!”
-Mike Francesa 12-9-08
I could see the SF Giants offering Sabathia Zito money, which is less than what the Yankees are offering but they could do that because CC would be getting a hometown discount. With Sabathia, the Giants would have an even more formidible pitching staff, which could make them competitive in the NL West and dangerous during the playoffs. I remember that the Giants came out of nowhere to get Zito. They may do the same with CC. They have a new managing general partner and he may want to make a splash.
Pete,
Sabathia can look around all he wants, no one and mean no one is going to offer him more than 140 million. It’s time for him to make a decision.
I respect CC’s decision regardless of what it is. There is no doubt we will give him the best offer, which he knows. The fact that he is just as concerned with his family and life in NY speaks quite highly of his character, and makes me want him even more (before the Swisher trade I was in favor of signing Tex instead of CC).
If he takes less money to play for another team, then hats off to him for really not being all about the money.
I do think he will sign with us in the end, and will not be all that reluctant to do so. The Dodgers will not give him a serious offer. They have good pitching already, really need hitting, and really got burned on the Jason Schmidt contract. The Angels are quite similar: tons of pitching, speed and defense, no bat to pair of with Vlad. The have needed a power hitting lefty for a while, and the switch hitting Tex fits their mold perfectly. Boston, suprisingly, has not even tried to screw up the Yankees persuit – not that anyone would take them serious because there rotation is quite set. Finally, the Brewers treated him well, and he liked it there, but Wisconsin is much more of a cry from So Cal than NY is. That, plus the money factor, should rule out the Brewers.
You go into a car dealer and pick out a car. The dealer says “This car costs $40,000 and I refuse to negotiate.”
The problem with this analogy is you didn’t say what kind of car. To correlate this to Sabathia, the car in question above should be a Rolls Royce. YOU WON’T FIND A BETTER PRICE ANYWHERE FOR A ROLLS.
GOODBYE CC go play for the Brewers or the Giants.
As Cashman put so well last night,
“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.”
It would be the height of stupidity to push Sabathia or to pull the offer.
Its pretty obvious Sabathia is waiting for an offer from a west coast team that is in the neighborhood of $140 mil. That way he can either take the offer and live in CA or use it to increase the Yankees’ offer.
Its probably frustrating for Sabathia’s agent right now. He knows the Yankees will go higher on his client but right now they have no incentive to do so. Unless another team steps in with a competitive offer they will have to go with the Yanks. The Yankees were very smart to have opened with such a large offer, it seems to have scared off the competition.
Pete – when their are only 6 cars on the lot, with 10 buyers, you need a decision. If the Yankees want to wait for the Rolls Royce while the Porsches are being sold, that’s risky. If they wait too long they could be driving an Edsel.
Mike said:
“He knows the deal . .He’s not going to get a better offer than the Yankees ! . If he wants to stay out west . Fine .. but let the Yankees know so we can head to plan B”
I couldn’t agree with this more.
“I do think he will sign with us in the end, and will not be all that reluctant to do so.”
I believe the “not all the reluctant to do so” horse has left the barn.
I don’t get this “it’s 2 months until spring training” stuff. I’m pretty sure all the other free agents will be signed long before then. But I guess it’s wrong to expect Sabathia to decide whether or not he wants to negotiate the Yankees $140 million offer.
as francesca is preaching right now, it’s time to let CC Needs abathia hit the bricks. He’s now going to meet with san fran? It’s clear he’s not interested in the yankees at all, the longer this goes the more pathetic cashman and our yanks look.
land sheets and lowe/burnett and move on
“I remember that the Giants came out of nowhere to get Zito.”
And Zito brought them right back to nowhere. Art, I posted some quotes from the new Giants managing partner a few threads ago, you can look there or check the sports section of sfgate.com. The guy literally says “I’m not here to make a splash with a big signing.”
in the meantime, go get sheets, tex, and lowe/burnett
Pete
Have Sweeney call Francessa and your CC e-mails will stop. He’s whipping up the crowd today out of boredom.
I am over Sabathia. You never know, he has had a couple of seasons where he’s been just over a .500 pitcher, he was 6-8 before being traded to Milwaukee, a team in the NL. He could come to NY and be Javy Vazquez for all we know. With our run support, I don’t think it would be very different. Remember, our offense looked very very close to ordinary last year. I am not so excited about him, and I am beginning to think a smarter move would be 2 years of Sheets, 5 years of Texeira, and—if he’ll agree to it—2 years of Burnett.
Whether or not CC wants to be here is for me immaterial, but it is significant in the timing to get other things done that would be, in my opinion, better for the team.
To answer your question, Pete, if it were my son, I would encourage him to sign with someone ASAP (not necessarily with the highest bidder, btw). It may sound crazy, but what if CC suffers an injury or has some freak medical issue pop up tomorrow? Once he signs, CC and his family can rest a bit easier.
Also, as to your point about CC finally getting the chance to savor free agency after having waited so long, that may be true. However, that was also time he could have spent figuring out where he wanted to play. It’s not as if he had to wait until this moment to find out where players on the Yankees live and send their kids to school.
PA-In response to this entry I’d just say its agida. People are just nervous because we can see so many things that could go wrong and mess up not getting the ace that we all know we NEED.
I honestly think we’re going to sign Ben Sheets before we sign CC. I think Sheets will make a decision before the new year and maybe even before x-mas. I see CC deciding sometime in mid-January.
This market is slow right now and its making everyone, including myself, a little antsy. We just cant understand how we can have a clearly superior offer out there and not get our man. I think we still will as long as we can get CC signed before Teixeira does because I have the sickening feeling he’s going to Boston….which sux.
If I were CC’s father I would tell him to wear his hat correctly and take the offer. $140 mil is a lot of money. This is no hometown discount. If he accepts the offer he beocmes the most highly compensated pitcher in the history of baseball. He gets to pitch for the most successful professional sports team in the history of professional sports and he gets to play half his games in a stadium which by all accounts will put most others to shame.
The economy is in the tank. If the stock market goes to 5000 next year (unlikely but possible) then perhaps the Yankees will decide to pull their offer.
The Yankees could lose out on Tex and AJ if CC keeps the Yankees waiting.
If the Yankees had given CC a lowball offer of only $100 mil (what a world) then I could understand why CC would take such a long time to decide, but they made a blow him out of the water offer, and he wants to squeeze another $10 or $20 mil out of the them.
I don’t know. I guess that I am just as impatient as everyone else here, and I remain concerned that the Yankees are going to make CC very rich despite the fact that he does not appear to be very excited about joining the team.
By the way, PA=Peter Abraham.
Wow, it’s a good thing some of you aren’t running the Yankees. Or hopefully not allowed out of your cells.
I’ve yet to see anybody explain the CC’s upside for deciding now. It’s because there isn’t one. This is not choosing up sides in the sandlot. The guy is trying to determine where he will play the next 6-8 years of his life. This could be his one and only chance to be a free agent.
I personally think Francesa is making a lot of sense today. The 140 offer has been on the table for over one month- It’s time make a descision big man.
If he doesn’t want to be a Yankee than so be it…walk. But Cashman and company shouldn’t let Sabathia get a free pass and shop the Yankee offer around to west coast teams. There are pleanty of guys on the market and frankly, the more I think about it, the more I like the sounds of A-rod/Texiera tag team in the lineup. It would make our offense the scariest in the league.
Pete you are wrong. I’m sorry I agree with a lot of your points but this time I cannot. He has had 24 days to mull over this offer and no one I repeat no one will outbid it. I agree with a lot of people here. WE ARE THE YANKEES!!! Noboday should be able to use us. NOBODY!!!! Greg Maddux did and I was mad as hell about that and I am mad now as well. Give Mr. SABATHIA until midnight and if you don’t get an answer pull it and move onto Tex, Sheets and Lowe.
PA-I know they’ve said they couldn’t realistically bring in CC and Teixeira but with the BoSox pushing so hard for him wouldn’t you assume the Yanks would get involved if nothing else to raise his price for Boston? I think Ca$hman was saying he couldn’t afford a record deal to CC and a 10 year HUGE deal for Teixeira but if in the end Tex is coming away with a smaller deal I absolutely can see Ca$h making a 5 year offer or so. They’d do it to us so why wouldn’t we do it to them? At least make them pay big bucks if they want to bring a major talent in like that.
I don’t agree with your metaphor for the situation, it need to be tweeked a bit. How about this for a better comparison:
You get into a car, after you’ve seen the prices for all other cars, and this is the best deal you can get, but you really like the POS down the lot because it’s a convertible. Taking the subpar deal because of something stupid is how I see this. Isn’t anybody saying to Sabathia, “hey, how about you go to NY and make a ton of loot and than live happily playing for a non contender on the West Coast for the rest of your career.” It seems to me Sabathia is being extremely short sighted in his decision. If he was such a family man, why doesn’t an extra $30 million entice you to play somewhere. i know if my father was offered a 20% increase in salary to work somewhere else for 8 months a year, he would do it. Not to mention, it’s not like he must spend every waking moment in NY. As many have pointed out, you’re on the road half the time and baseball isn’t a year round career.
IMO, this Sabathia thing is going to cost us contention in the rest of the free agent market. If h decides to sign somewhere else, all the chips are going to fall quickly, with the Yanks having invested little time in other FA’s cause we were pining over Sabathia. We can’t make him be our be all and end all of this offseason.
Donny Baseball’s Teixeira’s hero so I figure if he ends up only being able to get a 5 or six year deal he’d probably lean towards the Bronx with all things equal.
Seems to me that the “car dealership” analogy is a little off. It sounds like you are suggesting that CC is the buyer and the car dealer is the Yanks. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
If the yanks are offering to buy a car in CC for this amount and the dealer or agent is not agreeing, you go to another lot before the other cars are gone. In no way is CC the buyer in this situation. You don’t let the dealer control the situation. And in this case the Yankees are letting the dealer/agent control their fate.
Put a clock on the deal, already! Force the hand. Yes you are correct when you say CC has a right to take his time. But, honestly, why should the Yanks play into that. They are the Yankees. Showing the money is one thing, but showing the power of taking that away is another. Worked with AROD.
AJW.
They have already moved on to other targets. They just haven’t stopped looking at Sabathia. There are no laws saying you can’t bargain with more than one player at a time. Given the fact that NYY needs at least two starters, they need to be talking to everyone of interest….you know…like they’re doing now.
This offer has been on the table for over three weeks, and nobody’s coming close to the money the Yanks are offering. He doesn’t want to play here. Hal needs to step in and put a time frame in front of CC. The Yankees are being played.
“Pete you are wrong. I’m sorry I agree with a lot of your points but this time I cannot. He has had 24 days to mull over this offer and no one I repeat no one will outbid it. I agree with a lot of people here. WE ARE THE YANKEES!!!”
So in 24 days I can take you out of your home and tell you, where to live, where your wife will live, where your kids will live for the rest of most of thier lives ? Are you that stupid, this isn’t a 2-3 yr. thing or even a 1 yr. thing he contemplating the rest of his life. This is life too, living in NY ain’t exactly easy buddy.
I’m guessing alot of us are listening to Francesca. It’s been a two hour rant against Sabathia.
Now the fact is if we are to believe all media reports, he has said multiple times he wants to be on the west coast and on the national league, why bring a player that is not going to feel comfortable here? I would go for Burnett and Lowe/Sheets 100 times and save a LOT of money, also that gives them the flexiblity to go after to someone they MUST go after… Teixeira. Seriously the Yankees better not be thinking of going into the season with swisher at first, who’s gonna bat after Arod, he’s not get any pitches to hit b/c of that.
Pete: I love this blog and I think that you do a great job keeping everyone informed, but I respectfully disagree with you about this CC situation. This is a bird in the hand situation for CC. Anything can happen in this wacky world.
If Tex signs with Boston as everyone seems to think is going to happen, Cashman is going to be under intense pressure to get something done. He might decide to revoke the offer to CC and take his chances with AJ/Sheets/Lowe/Andy, etc. if CC continues waffle.
Braintrust I agree.
GB7 I never said they were’nt dealing with other players. They need to pull this offer and forget about him. Period. HE DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY HERE!!! Do you want someone on your team that does not want to be here.
There’s NO REASON FOR CC TO SIGN NOW EXCEPT THAT WE’RE YANKEE FANS AND WANT HIM TO. Why shouldn’t he take his time? If his goal is to go west coast more than likely the longer he waits the better chance of a job opening up is. What if Teixeira signs with Boston? He’s not stupid. If nothing else, even if he’s already decided to himself he’ll take the Yanks offer, he knows waiting can only increase the offer. I think he’s going to sign sometime between January 13-20 (somewhere mid Jan) for $145 to the Yanks. I think he’ll get a little bit more out of them by waiting and in the long run money talks. The only way I see it going down him for us is if the Angels get into this think because they lose Tex.
Thats true Pete, there is plenty of upside for Sabathia to wait it out, but how long should the Yankees wait and try and persuade him before they starting looking bad. Quite frankley, 140 over six years, in a terrible economy to play for the greatest franchise in the world isn’t exactly a tough desision. But if CC wants to play for a left coast team, let him but the Yankees should take the offer off the table before he starts shopping the Giants, Dodgers, etc..
UPSIDE: He makes $140 million over the next 6 years and allows the team he signs for to further improve the team around him. Additionally, with Sabathia dragging this out, he is putting a freeze on the rest of the market.
AND, what people aren’t realizing is what this does to the FA market: If CC and his agent take a lesser deal, they will be practically black balled. Taking $30 Million less during a recession! drives down the whole market, especially SP. What ind of agent would let his client drive down the market for all other FA’s, including one’s CC’s agent represents, if there are any, i dont know his agent too.
And, I’m sure if CC aid to cashman to his face, I would rather play on the WC, but for 150 ill play here, u think Cash wouldnt write a check right there for 10 million? CC doesn’t need contending offers to drive up the price. All he needs to say is i wont sign for less than 150 cause its on the EC.
Pete – CC’s upside in deciding now is that there is $140m on the table for him. If the Yankees walk, what’s his next best offer, $100m?
Wow – this place is moronic.
CC has -no- incentive to sign now. If his agent can convince the Giants or Dodgers or Angels to offer him, say, 125M over 6 years? Guess what – the Yankees might up their offer to $150 or $155 or add a 7th year.
He has -no- incentive to sign NOW.
But there are not other bidders coming to him unless he tells the other teams he does not want to be a Yankee. Either blank or get off the seat.
AJW
December 9th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Braintrust I agree.
GB7 I never said they were’nt dealing with other players. They need to pull this offer and forget about him. Period. HE DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY HERE!!! Do you want someone on your team that does not want to be here.
———————————————————-
HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO PLAY IN NY? Did you get the word from Sabathia, personally? Hey, that really makes the point stick by capitalizing.
An nothing says the Yanks can’t negotiate with other players while with Sabathia, but without knowing where Sabathia stands, we can;t fully negotiate with anyone. for example, if he declines the Yanks, you don’t think our offers to sheets/lowe/burnett and even tex get extremely more competitive? Sabathia is effectively keeping the yankees from competitively bidding on other FA’s cause they have no idea what CC will cost the organization. No company can make additional decisions as to what to do with their money when 140$ million dollars is sitting on the table for somebody to pick up, and you don’t know if they are coming back to get it
And I’m sorry, AJ Burnett? Please tell me those asking for Burnett instead of CC are joking.
CC is THE best pitcher on the market right now. Period. He isn’t competing with Burnett, Sheets, Lowe, Perez, etc. He’s unique.
Pete, your logic only works if he would have received a competitive offer from the Yankees BUT HE HASN’T. he has received a blow everyone else out of the water offer. so much so that the only other team to offer something is not even close. so what time do you actually have to take? there is a difference between letting it develop and receiving the best offer out there and jumping on it. I would only agree with you if someone else had offered him something close to the Yankees but no one hasn’t and its been a month.
Personally, if I were CC, I’d wait for Tex to sign. If he signs with a non-Angels team, the money is going to climb with the Angels joining the chase.
CC: I want to play on the WC, i dont know what i should do?
Giants/Dodgers/Brewers: Well until you decide what youre doing with the Yankees, we can’t concievably make any offers or do much of anything because we can’t compete with that money, so we will focus on other FA’s.
That’s why he should act quickly, cause while he makes the Yankees wait, other teams that CC may WANT to get in on it can’t while $140 milion is floating around.
If I was going to take a new job somewhere…and got an huge offer from a company where I would have to live there for 6 years for 6 months out of the year and travel 50% of the time…I would have all my research done on how it is to live there. what the company was like, etc. as soon as I got the offer(or even before). I would not wait a month to meet with my potential employer and then ask them….”ummmm…how are the schools in the area? do you have a dental plan?”
People move around the country for work all the time and make decisions like this for situations a lot less grandiose than being an MLB multi-millionaire. If CC was really interested in NY and the Yankees, his research would be more than a 3 hour discussion in Vegas a month after the offer.
Also, there is an injury risk that can blow the whole thing. Car accident, slipping on ice, hurting your back in a freak way. Ask Joel Zumaya about blowing his shoulder helping a relative move some boxes one December day.
“AJW
December 9th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Braintrust I agree.
GB7 I never said they were’nt dealing with other players. They need to pull this offer and forget about him. Period. HE DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY HERE!!! Do you want someone on your team that does not want to be here.
—————————————————————————————
HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO PLAY IN NY? Did you get the word from Sabathia, personally? Hey, that really makes the point stick by capitalizing.”
LOL
Here’s why people are impatient with CC.
To use your own analogy and logic Pete:
1) CC was underpaid for years. This is exactly why he should go with the HIGHEST offer. This is your own logic.
2) Let’s say 4 customers go into a car dealer looking to buy one car in particular that lists at $40,000.
1 of the customers offers $30,000 payable over 4 years.
2 of the customers offer $40,000 payable over 5 years.
1 of the customers offers $60,000 payable over 6 years.
Does anyone actually think it’s going to take the dealer long to decide who to sell the car to? Of course not.
That’s why the impatience with CC. It’s not like the Yankees have offered up a deal identical to anyone else and now it’s just a matter of whose perks are better. The Yankees have blown away any other offer presented to CC and precisely because he has been underpaid and taken advantage of, delaying the acceptance of the highest offer he is ever going to receive is a slap in the face.
It would also be irresponsible and stupid of a writer to fail to mention what every single reputable source in the world of baseball has reported:
That Sabathia would rather not play in NY.
It’s beyond myth and speculation when reputable sources like Heyman, Rosenthal, Olney have all reported this. Pete refuses to believe it because everyone is a greedy slob in baseball but that’s OK.
I believe the Yanks are making a big mistake, I’d pull the offer and go after Teixiera instead. If he doesn’t really want to play with the Yanks, throwing money at him to accept still doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t really want to play with the Yanks. That may change over time but is that gamble worth $140 million? Teixiera could replace the lost offense from Abreu & Giambi. What would you rather have? CC and Burnett/Lowe/Sheets with Gardner or Melky playing evry day or Burnett/Lowe/Sheets and Hughes in the 5th spot with Teixeira playing every day. Seems obvious to me.
(Typed from Cellblock A45)
Here is the number one reason why CC needs to make a decision: Because if he waits and waits, his reputation with the NY fans is going to be tarnished before he throws one pitch. Everyone knows what he is doing. He is either trying to find a West Coast team to play for or trying to drive up the price. Either way he is looking bad to every NY fan out there by waiting. Sounds silly but NY fans can be silly. And it’s going to be worse when he can not perform on the mound with that price tag on his back. He is shaping himself up to be AROD part II. Every move will be scrutinized the longer he waits because yankee fans are impatient. From CC’s standpoint why would I want to subject myself to that scrutiny. Either take the $140 mil that no one is going to come close to offering or you don’t. By delaying the fact he is making yankee fans look like fools and you don’t want to do that as a home player or a visiting player.
CC is making a costly decision even though it seems like the reasonable decision to take your time. The cost is your reputation.
I know what is taking so long! It’s all in the plot summary below. It’s pretty elaborate, but all will be resolved soon.
CASHMAN’S ELEVEN
Plot: Shortly after being paroled from the Milwaukee Brewers, CC Sabathia visits Las Vegas, meeting up with LeBron, a former partner in his athletic schemes. The two approach the wealthy GM, Brian Cashman, with a plan to rob the vaults of the Bellagio, The Mirage and the MGM Grand casinos. Brian, seeing this as a way to get back at his rival, Theo Epstein, finances the option and suggests the plan occur on the night of the highly-anticipated Oscar De La Hoya/Manny Pacquiao boxing match, during which, by Nevada Gaming Commission rules, will have more than $150 million stored away. CC and Brian begin to recruit former colleagues and other masterminds into their group. The team plans out a series of reconnaissance missions at the various hotels to learn the workings of their security system, while setting up a recreation of the Bellagio vault to practice avoiding the sensitive floor security systems known to be in the vault. During their planning, the team discovers that A-Rod’s ex-wife, Cynthia, is currently Theo Epstein’s lover, and Brian urges CC to drop the plan, aware that Cynthia may warn Terry that something is afoot if she sees CC, but CC figures this into the plan.
On the night of the fight, the plan is put into effect. CC himself goes to the casino purposely to be seen by Theo, who has him locked into a storeroom with Kevin Youkilis to beat him up. However, CC has previously made friends with Youk, allowing him to escape into the vents and meet with his team in the vault. The team activates a pinch device to temporarily disable power from the city, allowing them to breach the vault undetected. As Theo tries to restore order in the casino after the power outage, Cashman anonymously calls him via a cell phone that CC planted earlier in Cynthia’s coat to let him know that the Red Sox’s Las Vegas vaults are being robbed and that all the money will be blown up if Theo does not cooperate as they take half the money from the vault into a van waiting outside. As soon as the van is loaded and drives off, Theo orders Dustin Pedroia and Curt Schilling to follow it while calling in the S.W.A.T. team to attack the vault. The S.W.A.T. arrives too late to stop the other half of the money being blown up, and shortly depart, Theo left to look at the ruins of the vault.
Theo quickly learns that televised images he saw of the vault were faked, the team having filmed the incidents in the vault using their recreation, as the video feed did not show the new rugs that were installed a few days earlier. His men following the van find that it was driven remotely, and is only filled with scraps of paper. Theo comes to the realization that Danny’s men must have posed as the S.W.A.T. team and faked the fighting while they cleared out the vault, taking all of the money with them as they left unchecked. Theo returns to the room where he left CC, finding that CC is still there, leaving Theo no way to connect him to the theft. CC offers to assist Theo in finding the money if he would give up Cynthia, which Theo agrees to. However, the team recorded this conversation and showed it to Cynthia; angry at being used by Theo, she leaves him and returns to A-Rod. CC is re-signed by the Brewers and spends six more years in “prison”. When he is released, he is met by Brian and Hank Steinbrenner, and the three drive off, sign a record-setting contract in which CC, an aging pitcher past his prime plays three uneventful seasons from 2016-2018, pulling a “Randy Johnson.”
“This is life too, living in NY ain’t exactly easy buddy.”
It is when you’ve got $140mil in your back pocket.
CC will sit on the Yankees offer until there is a chance it will be pulled. I think the Yankees should give him a date certain that the deal will be pulled. Then he’ll have incentive to make a decision.
The car dealer analogy goes into the goofy Hall of Fame.
Try this instead… the CC building is for lease and one company has bid $ 140 Million for six years’ use of it.
The owner is waiting for other offers which might be more attractive to him. He’ll continue to wait on those offers until the first company tells him that their offer is only good for 48 more hours. Then the owner will tell all the other brokers/agents they have 36 hours to make their best offer.
I’m not saying a short term deadline would have made sense from day one. But now that he’s had almost a month to consider it, it’s soon going to be time to pick up the pace.
Dude, on you on crack? What was the point of that ridiculous post? There’s 3 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. Thanks.
I don’t understand these people who think CC will take a hometown discount to go to SF! Say this out-loud and see what you think, “I’m going to leave $20 – $30 million on the table so I can go to a non-contender who, after giving me my contract, will have no money left over to spend anything on offense. All of this, so I can stand in a batter’s box once every five days.”
Seriously, does that sound rational?
Well… the difference between me buying a car, and a player likke CC signing a contract is so huge its not comparable.
160.000.000$ is a awfull lot of money, and you will act greedy if you want more than that. buiyng a car with the income an avg citizen have you have to look for the best deal because your private economy is so tight
because we are impatient,wan’t cc,need pitching & would love to talk about it on the blogg.
then we go from there.we need an ace & then some.
I’ve yet to see anybody explain the CC’s upside for deciding now. It’s because there isn’t one.
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Agreed. So lets give him one!!!
1) Pull the offer to CC, and give him another one for $135m
Cut the $5 so CC KNOWS we are serious, and not going higher.
2) Offer Tex 7/$145m + incentives
Tell both their agents that if one signs, the other offer is pulled.
Tougher decisions than taking a guaranteed $140MM from the Yankees to play baseball:
1. Should I join the army/navy/air force marines and risk my life for my country?
2. Should we have another child?
3. Should I become a doctor, lawyer, or sports writer?
4. Paper or plastic?
5. Do you want fries with that?
Mike
December 9th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I disagree Pete . There a difference between taking your time and Stalling !
He knows the deal . .He’s not going to get a better offer than the Yankees ! . If he wants to stay out west . Fine .. but let the Yankees know so we can head to plan B
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exactly right.
he is stalling & the yankees need to tighten the screws.there is nothing to lose.
no team will come close in this economy.look at krod.
these players are in for a big suprise.
You guys are ridiculous!
let the guy take his time. It’s CC’s decision. It’s not the Yankees god given right to acquire any player they want, when they want. And guess what, maybe some people aren’t thrilled about the idea of playing for the Yankees, even if it is for the most money!
I’m sure Cashman has a contingency plan, he’s not stupid. So I don’t buy into this “CC is holding up the Yankees offseason plans!” talk.
Get a grip
pa:
his mind is made up already.
he is waiting on other teams & the yankees need to pressure him.
if you are making a decision no matter what it is it does not take a month to do it.
it is made quickly.
what people fail to realize is that a month from now cc will not know any more about ny or how it will be in ny until he plays there.
a month is long enough by a long time to make almost any lifetime decision especially when money is out of the decision.
even getting married if it takes you 3 weeks if you are asked today then you are with the wrong person.
it is clear that he is waiting for an acceptable offer that will not come.
he better be willing to take a lot and i mean a lot less money.
taking that much will be on his mind forever no matter what.
he will be in a situation in his life where he is going to regret not taking the money.
a few bad things happen in cali & it will happen.
take 40 percent or so right off the top,agents fee & his lifestyle he will be on a budget.
Amen. This is not Koufax, or Halladay or Santana. You can even argue that he’s not Peavy. I told you Hal was right about the offer not being on the table indefinitely. However, Hal should have been more assertive and said you have until Monday, December 8th @ noon to decide before offer comes off the table…for good! While we wait for Mr. Buffet to make a decision, other potential Yankee pitchers are going to be gobbled up by other teams.
By the way, this is all Cashman’s fault. If Yanks signed Santana (who is a better pitcher then CC), they wouldn’t have to be so desperate. I was against Hughes for Santana last year too because I bought into Yankee hype and Hughes did pitch well the end of last season. However, I wouldn’t have objected if this trade was made because we were getting back a 29 year old pitcher in return. This was not a Hughes for Randy Johnson or Kevin Brown type deal!
Let someone else pay for this loads buffet. Bye FAT BOY!
“he better be willing to take a lot and i mean a lot less money.
take 40 percent or so right off the top,agents fee & his lifestyle he will be on a budget.”
Seriously. He’d only get $110,000,000 if he signs with the Brewers.
If he chooses the Brewers he better start collecting food stamps.
Hey Marky Mark clever take on Ocean’s Eleven movies except for one error…there isn’t a vent anywhere on this planet large enough for CC to get through!
Pete, you are noticing how CC has already developed a bad taste in Yankee fan’s mouths. Can anyone imagine had it been Arod taking his sweet time?
Sabathia can take all the time he wants, but if I’m the Yankees I either pull the offer or give him an ultimatum.
24 days is enough time.
So is 24 hours.
Next.
Man… I would love to be at the negotiating table with most of you.
CC should not accept ANYTHING until Yankees threaten to pull the offer or he believes every other big market team has moved on and aren’t going to offer a competitive offer.
NEITHER OF THOSE SITUATIONS HAS HAPPENED YET!!!
I always wondered who the suckers are that used car dealers abuse… Apparently half of them hang out on this blog…
Yankees were a 3rd place team in 2008, stop thinking everybody wants to come here. It’s 2008, not 1998. Stop living in the past people.
I agree with others- Cashman or whomever makes the ultimate decision needs to say to Sabathia, “We have said this offer will not be on the table indefinitely. We are serious. You have until 6 p.m. December 18th (one week after the end of the winter meetings)to decide. If not, we withdraw the offer.” There is no reason for him to take this long. He is clearly desperate for a west coast team to come somewhat close to the Yankees average annual amount so that he can justify it to the Player’s Union. He can take all the time he wants – it is his perogative. I don’t feel that the Yankees are doing him a ‘favor’ by letting him sign with them. But the Yankees don’t have sit there like a gullible suitor who will do anything for him. They need to keep some respect for themselves.
EricRhody,
Respect for themselves ? Are you serious ? It’s a negotiation, not a love conquest. Stop. If that was your basis for making a decision, than we should cut Joba (a drunk driver), Andy (a HGH user), and Jason Giambi years ago (the poster boy for steroids and HGH). Guess we really respect ourselves. Stop the nonsense.
He’s taking his time because he can. If you don’t want to wait, pull the offer. Of course, he’ll get a $100m contract from somebody else. How horrible. And we will finish in 3rd place again. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously, we are no longer a great team.
Pete,
The craziness started when CC stated that he wanted the process over quickly, and not have it drag out. The Yanks called his bluff, and now he is baffled, trying to come up with a reason to either accept or deny the offer. No other team has come to the table, so he is wondering what leverage he really does have.
The Yankees need him more than other teams,and they have shown him that respect with the offer. If you believe Coletti, CC is begging West coast teams to make an offer. Sounds like a confused young man. Remind you of anyone?
If another team was dumb enough to offer CC more then $100m, they would have done it already. CC is NOT a casual decision. Either a team has targeted him (like the Yankees) or NOT. You don’t spend $100m on a whim!
The Yankees should pull their initial offer, make a new offer for $135m, and put a 4 day deadline on it. Either CC is a Yankee in 4 days, or he loses $25-$35 million.
Simple as that.
Meanwhile, we should be wining and dining Tex.
It’d be more like a guy walks into a car dealership , asks the dealer how much does this gas gozzling SUV cost? Dealer says, $40,000. Customer says, great I’ll give you $140,000 for it. Dealer says, thats great. Let me think about it though because there’s a guy in California who may give me 45,000.
I don’t know anything about Sabathia’s agent but this guy better start looking for another line of work if he lets C.C. sign anywhere else for less money. Personally I hope C.C. turns down the offer. I think we’d be better off signing Sheets, Burnett, Lowe and making a run for Texieria or Manny. Let’s sign players that would jump at a chance to play for the Yankees not someone who’s more interested in lounging in the California sun.
1 It’s stupid business to draw lines in the sand. Are you afraid you are going to lose out on Derek Lowe, an innings eater and Burnett and Sheets who will spend more time on the DL than you’d like to admit. Those guys are all losers. The only difference maker is CC and you wait for him, like it or not. We are still a 3rd place team with Lowe and Burnett, people.
1 It’s stupid business to draw lines in the sand. Are you afraid you are going to lose out on Derek Lowe, an innings eater and Burnett and Sheets who will spend more time on the DL than you’d like to admit. Those guys are all losers. The only difference maker is CC and you wait for him, like it or not. We are still a 3rd place team with Lowe and Burnett, people.
Pete, CC is not going to get any more money than the Yankees offered so if is not taking that offer than he is not interested in the Yankees. He is just looking to get as much as possible from somebody else. The Yankees would be nuts to up their offer one penny.
Grow up people, it’s not all about the money. He’s already stinking rich and will be stinking rich whether he gets a $100m contract or a $140 contract. Maybe he just doesn’t want to play for a 3rd place team (hint – us!)
This is just bad business. It’s as simple as that. Either he becomes the highest paid pitcher in the MLB or he takes 30-40 Mil less and signs with the Dodgers.
Know WC team is coming close to that offer. He’s not making any friends bye slowing down the FA market. In my opinion this hesitation has less to do with his family and more to do with the fact he likes all this media attention he’s getting.
Actually, losing CC would be a blessing in disguise. The only team that can afford him in this economy, is a team that is WS bound. Otherwise, he is a losing proposition.
I believe Tex has said he wants to be a Yankee. He’s a player for our future, so lets let him prove it. Offer him 7/$140 + MVP, Batting crown, 1.000+ OPS incentives. If he signs, we won’t need to spend the money on a big bat OFer next year.
Giambi and Abreu are gone.
Matsui and JD are gone after this year.
Jeter and Posada are most likely in decline.
ARod, hopefully Cano, and maybe Swisher are our ONLY bats.
Sign Andy for 1 year. That makes our payroll (with Andy and Tex) just %15m over the cap. Then do what the Sox did in 05 and 06. REBUILD. REBUILD. We have the highest payroll and a team full of holes. REBUILD! Concentrate on the Farm and International signings. REBUILD!
In 2 years, JD, Nady, Mo, Matsui and Jeter will be gone. That’s over $65m. By then, we will know if we REALLY have good pitching on the farm. We will have a core of ARod, Tex, Swish, Wang, Joba, Cano, Hughes and Po (in his last year) as DH. We will have a reasonable payroll and be set up to rebuild the RIGHT WAY… with youth, a few studs, and some smart, decent FA deals and trades (of which there will be MANY over the next 2 or 3 years).
We are MORE then 1 or 2 players away.
The start of the biggest recession in 70 years is NOT the time to OVERSPEND on players in the hopes we can ‘buy’ into the PS. Pavano wasn’t enough? You want over $100m in AJ and Sheets?
2009 is ONE LOUSY YEAR.
They will still be playing baseball in 2010.
And beyond even.
WE ARE THE YANKEES does not cut it anymore.
It ain’t as bad as 1965, but the writing is on the wall.
REBUILD!
P.S.
“will have a core of ARod, Tex, Swish, Wang, Joba, Cano, Hughes and Po (in his last year)”
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Hopefully, we can add Montero and AJax to that.
Hopefully a bunch of pitchers.
Jeter will not be gone in 2 years… He might be in left field, but he will be playing.
If we made him a competitive offer, it would be smart to wait and test the market..
What the yankees offered was a market breaking offer, no one can beat it.. no one will come within 20million of it..
Now it just seems like someone will come 30mil close, so he can take that offer..