Yanks sign Tex

[jimsumner]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3790141

[YmoBeThere]

How much have they spent in the off-season? Must be over $400 million...

[brevity]

From the above linked article:


The Yankees had $88.5 million coming off the books (included in that total -- $23.4 million on Jason Giambi, $16 million on Bobby Abreu, and $11 million to both Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano), and even with the Teixeira contract, they expect their payroll to fall below $200 million. New York has committed $423.5 million in salary in the last month, with $161 million going to left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia ($23 million per over seven years) and $82.5 million to right-hander A.J. Burnett ($18.5 million per over five) last week alone.

On today's PTI, Michael Wilbon mentioned that the Yankees organization makes so much money off its regional TV contracts, so he doesn't mind the fact that they spend it on free agents rather than pocketing it and giving the fans what some might consider to be an inferior product.

It was an interesting defense; I hadn't quite thought about it in those terms before. Still doesn't change my mind that the whole mercenary approach is bad for baseball and the Yankees should be dissolved, but hey, that's just me.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

From the above linked article:



On today's PTI, Michael Wilbon mentioned that the Yankees organization makes so much money off its regional TV contracts, so he doesn't mind the fact that they spend it on free agents rather than pocketing it and giving the fans what some might consider to be an inferior product.

It was an interesting defense; I hadn't quite thought about it in those terms before. Still doesn't change my mind that the whole mercenary approach is bad for baseball and the Yankees should be dissolved, but hey, that's just me.

As a life-long diehard Yankee fan, this is great news. I would have put money on the Yanks signing Manny (and they still might????), but Teixeira is a better player for more years!

The Yanks make a killing on the YES network, so even in the down economy, they make money. But how are all the big stock brokerages and banks going to buy the luxury boxes and $2500/game seats? Not with my TARP money, that's for sure. I think that will be a rude awakening to the Steinbrenner family and many will go unsold (this year, but not next).

[DukeUsul]

The Yankees suck. That is all.

:D

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The Yankees suck. That is all.

:D

Yeah, and there are people that say that about Duke. And they are wrong too. :)

[YmoBeThere]

Yeah, and there are people that say that about Duke. And they are wrong too. :)

In the latter case yes...now about the former.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

In the latter case yes...now about the former.

They are wrong.

[YmoBeThere]

They are wrong.


Haha, I'll take a poll here locally and find out...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Haha, I'll take a poll here locally and find out...

Poll all you want. Doesn't matter, this isn't a democracy. You/they are still wrong.

[Ben63]

I'm not a Yankee fan but I have no problem with them spending their money. They play by the rules (not their fault their is no cap) and pay their luxury taxes. Yes the Yankees make the most revenue from their TV contracts/merchandise/tickets/etc but the Steinbrenners are not even close to the richest owners in baseball. They put their money in because they want to WIN. Making money is not a concern to them. Other owners are in baseball to make money, and could care less about the fans and the desire to win. As long as their bottom line is green at the end of the year, they could finish 40 games below .500 and they would consider it success. Their are plenty of people who would spend money on a baseball team (Mark Cuban) who would invest his money to field a winning team, but no one is willing to sell these franchises because they continue to make money, regardless of the quality of play.

The Yankees have the money, so they spend it, I don't see the problem. Just because your team refuses to spend money to put a winning baseball team on the field does NOT mean the Yankees should stop what they are doing. If anything, other teams SHOULD be like the Yankees and re-invest their money to field a competitive baseball team.

[Oriole Way]

A very sad day for me. :(

[YmoBeThere]

Poll all you want. Doesn't matter, this isn't a democracy. You/they are still wrong.


Interesting...they all insist they are right.

[duke74]

I'm not a Yankee fan but I have no problem with them spending their money. They play by the rules (not their fault their is no cap) and pay their luxury taxes. Yes the Yankees make the most revenue from their TV contracts/merchandise/tickets/etc but the Steinbrenners are not even close to the richest owners in baseball. They put their money in because they want to WIN. Making money is not a concern to them. Other owners are in baseball to make money, and could care less about the fans and the desire to win. As long as their bottom line is green at the end of the year, they could finish 40 games below .500 and they would consider it success. Their are plenty of people who would spend money on a baseball team (Mark Cuban) who would invest his money to field a winning team, but no one is willing to sell these franchises because they continue to make money, regardless of the quality of play.

The Yankees have the money, so they spend it, I don't see the problem. Just because your team refuses to spend money to put a winning baseball team on the field does NOT mean the Yankees should stop what they are doing. If anything, other teams SHOULD be like the Yankees and re-invest their money to field a competitive baseball team.

I'm a lifetime Mets fan...but I absolutely agree with Ben. They have the money and the Boss has always wanted to be the best and reward their fans with a superior product. Missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 or so years I think put the "spending spree" in motion. My only concern, if I were a Yankees fan, would be the inability to develop my own players like the Red Sox. That's a reflection on their scouting system in general, I would think....

And...if I read the articles right, the 2009 salary amount will be less than 2008, with 88 million coming off the books and less coming back on. The issue will (might) be the length of the contracts, especially for the 2 pitchers.

As a NYer, I am tired of the so-called "small market teams" crying about the spending. Despite TARP, we are not France (yet). They get revenue-sharing money, and a number just pocket it rather than reinvesting in the product. There is SO much that small markets have to offer - quality of life, less invasive press, etc - that with the right investment in players they could compete with the big'uns - NY, Boston, LA, etc.

Now, maybe, my boys will go for Manny!

[jimsumner]

Imagine if the Yankees spent their enormous profits giving huge bonuses to their execs. Everyone would complain that they aren't plowing those profits into improving their team.

But they are plowing those profits into improving their team. A better alternative, imo.

[Lavabe]

After reading this thread, all I have to say is:

WHAT recession? :rolleyes:

Whoops, mixing threads/boards again!;)

Ben63: The Yanks are the Chelsea of MLB.:D

[duke74]

After reading this thread, all I have to say is:

WHAT recession? :rolleyes:

Whoops, mixing threads/boards again!;)

Ben63: The Yanks are the Chelsea of MLB.:D

Or... the Real Madrid of MLB.....

[duke74]

Imagine if the Yankees spent their enormous profits giving huge bonuses to their execs. Everyone would complain that they aren't plowing those profits into improving their team.

But they are plowing those profits into improving their team. A better alternative, imo.

Agree completely.

[rasputin]

How much have they spent in the off-season? Must be over $400 million...

Obviously the Yankees have inked some huge contracts, but they did have some high-salaried guys from last year who are gone (Giambi, Mussina, Abreu).

[YmoBeThere]

Obviously the Yankees have inked some huge contracts, but they did have some high-salaried guys from last year who are gone (Giambi, Mussina, Abreu).

Yes, they are less bloated than last year...

[weezie]

A very sad day for me. :(


And for the poor Nats. It would have been nice to have a good reason to go to a steamy hitters park (with terribly inferior beer selections) in the middle of July in DC......

[Oriole Way]

As pointed out earlier, the Yanks (or at least their fans) will heavily regret the contracts given to Sabathia and Burnett... both awful deals, especially to Burnett. Sabathia could be worth the money for a year or two, but he will decline quickly. He is also pitching in the toughest division in baseball. Even the Orioles will have one of the best offenses in the league. Burnett's is one of the worst contracts in baseball, period.

Teixeira is probably the Yanks' best signing of the three value-wise. Hitters are far more durable than pitchers. But, he's not the third best player in baseball. Still, I respect the Yanks for doing what it takes to win. It's one of the several reasons I'm very upset with the Orioles for not at least upping their original offer to Teixeira. For crying out loud, at the very least, make the Yankees pay a few million extra.

[Mal]

I don't disagree with the general sentiment here that the Yankees have the money and should be able to spend it as they wish.

I'd like to offer a littly more sympathy for non-major metropolis teams than that provided by ben63 and duke74, though. For one, I don't think "small market" needs to be in quotations in duke74's post. Milwaukee is, in fact, small in terms of television market and other miscellaneous alternative revenue sources, when compared to Chicago, LA and New York, in particular. Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, and others start at a legitimate disadvantage in terms of television, radio and merchandising revenue, not to mention ticket sales. Winning product or not, the Indians, for example, simply cannot charge the ticket prices the Yankees can and they'll never sell as many caps.

The luxury tax only erases part of this deficit. The result is that, while most of the smaller market teams have the ability to spend big in short spurts, doing so on a permanent basis is not a viable business model for them. They have windows of opportunity to make a postseason run before their homegrown core reaches free agent status and it becomes too expensive for them to re-sign the entire group or continue adding hired guns. That's why teams like the Indians make a run up the rankings and then fall back down and have to build again. It's not that they just aren't trying (except for the Royals and Pirates). Look at Detroit - they took a chance on taking a good core and adding on some expensive free agents to make a run at a Series, it failed miserably, and now they're tied to a bunch of big contracts and don't have a championship team to squeeze more revenue out of. The Yankees can afford to pay big and have their risks not pan out with regularity; other teams cannot.

Let's also not completely discount the ability the Yankees have to perpetuate this system by knowingly overpaying for players, too. Again, it's their money and they can do what they want with it and good on them for buying players instead of additional private jets for George and Hank. But, sports franchises are a little different in that they not only do the buying that happens in the market, but they bid the market prices, too. It would be different if there were prices set by the league on player contracts and the Yankees simply committed to buy more of them than other teams. In reality, though, the Yankees have the ability to effectively price other teams out of competition.

And FWIW, I don't think it's the small market teams themselves "whining." Any whining is mostly coming from the media and fans, as far as I can tell. And what I see and hear more of is simply lamenting the endless fiscal resources of the Yankees. The pendulum has swung a long way in the last decade, from "the Yankees epitomize everything that's wrong with baseball and their big spending is unfair" to the opinions offered on this thread - no one here is demonizing them. I don't "hate" the Yankees myself, but I'm not afraid to admit I was gleeful when they failed to make the playoffs this past year nonetheless, because I respect the job that the front office of the Rays or A's does to make the playoffs more. And I suffer from Yankee/Red Sox media coverage fatigue. ;)

[Ben63]

Ben63: The Yanks are the Chelsea of MLB.:D

The difference between the Yankees and Chelsea "they bought their title" is that Chelsea actually won two EPL titles, an FA Cup, and a Carling Cup or two. Let's not forget the Yankees are on an eight year drought (which is laughable to me, a Cubs fan) but it is way to long for the Yankees and their fans.

[JasonEvans]

Hard to hate the Yanks when they are also giving something back to the fans. They are only charging 25 cents for tickets (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AtZjHBK6bx21jZXTdYApjJQRvLYF?slug=ap-newyankeestadiumopener&prov=ap&type=lgns)to opening day.

--Jason "I think many of us hate the Yanks because we wish our teams could do what they do" Evans

[duke74]

And FWIW, I don't think it's the small market teams themselves "whining." Any whining is mostly coming from the media and fans, as far as I can tell. And what I see and hear more of is simply lamenting the endless fiscal resources of the Yankees. The pendulum has swung a long way in the last decade, from "the Yankees epitomize everything that's wrong with baseball and their big spending is unfair" to the opinions offered on this thread - no one here is demonizing them. I don't "hate" the Yankees myself, but I'm not afraid to admit I was gleeful when they failed to make the playoffs this past year nonetheless, because I respect the job that the front office of the Rays or A's does to make the playoffs more. And I suffer from Yankee/Red Sox media coverage fatigue. ;)

Fair points, all. I put "small market" in quotes (oops, did it again), because it's become a defined term, or so it seems in the discussion.

Also, didn't the owner of the Marlins (another story there) "whine" about the CC signing, using terms like "reckless"? (To be fair, I do think he backtracked a few days later.) Maybe he was just lamenting the economics, vs the equity of the positions and relative abilities to spend. However, I think the Marlins (and the owners) are one of those benefiting by the luxury tax dropping right to the bottom line.

[Ben63]

As pointed out earlier, the Yanks (or at least their fans) will heavily regret the contracts given to Sabathia and Burnett... both awful deals, especially to Burnett. Sabathia could be worth the money for a year or two, but he will decline quickly. He is also pitching in the toughest division in baseball. Even the Orioles will have one of the best offenses in the league. Burnett's is one of the worst contracts in baseball, period.



I think most of us can agree that some of the contracts are not smart and may come back to bite the Yankees in the butt. But this is why not having a salary cap is GOOD (yeah, I said it) for baseball. Look at another NY franchise, the Knicks. A few years ago they did this same thing, making huge long deals that were not good for the club. As the players turned out to be busts, they had no option but to sit and wait out the contracts and be a terrible basketball team for a few years. The contracts were too big to move and were to expensive to buy out because it would go against their cap. So as Stephon Marbury plays 0 minutes of basketball this season and makes $21 mil, the Knicks continue to stink and will until they go on another shopping spree in the summer of 2010. Now landing LeBron James will probably not turn out to be a bust, some other players they sign that summer eventually will be. And then they will have to go through the same period of mediocrity they are currently experiencing.

At least with baseball and the Yankees, if players are busts, they can go out the next winter and try again. Pavano- bust, Johnny Damon- bust, Giambi- not a bust, but not what he was in Oakland. These deals would have set the Yankees back multiple years had a cap been in place because they could not afford to move the contracts or sign more big name players to avoid periods of mediocrity, something Yankees brass and fans will just not accept.

Is it the "right way?" Probably not. But it is a way that is avaliable to all 30 franchises. Not many choose to or can afford to do it, but it is an option. And lets face it, these rules will not change anytime soon because when the Yankees are good, it is good for the MLB. And while each individual franchise should be more about winning than making a dollar, the objective of the MLB as a whole should be, and is, to make money. Like it or not, that's just the way it is. You know just as much as I do if the MLB didn't make money, there would be no baseball. Just look what happened to the NHL.

[jimsumner]

Where the money's coming from.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/23/2008-12-23_christmas_spending_spree_always_in_seaso-1.html?page=1

[jma4life]

What's sad for me about this situation as that what we're seeing is a team buying a world series, or at least attempting to do so.

I always saw sports as something beyond business. Something where good coaching, good scouting, good player development and good teamwork were the soul determinant's in a franchise's fate rather than the ability of an owner to open his pocketbook. Clearly, that view with regards to baseball was one of extreme naivety. The reality is that an owner with an ego, or an owner who is willing to spend his money, probably has a greater influence than does a team's scouting department, a team's coach, or a team's farm system.

It's not a matter of is it fair or not to me. The rules are the rules and thus, it is fair given the rules. But it's not the way I want winners decided. We may as well literally bid on the world series and not bother playing games. That's essentially the point we're approaching. Just hold an auction for the trophy at the start of the season.

[brevity]

Winning product or not, the Indians, for example, simply cannot charge the ticket prices the Yankees can and they'll never sell as many caps.

Do you mean that the Indians can't sell as many caps as the Yankees in general, or specifically to Cleveland's most famous pro athlete?


And I suffer from Yankee/Red Sox media coverage fatigue. ;)

I think we all do. That's what happens when most of the talk is centered in Bristol, CT. Their coverage of the "local" teams just happens to be broadcast on the Worldwide Leader in Sports. It would be fascinating to see how sports news would be different if there were a competing Western US hub.

[JasonEvans]

I want to add one more thing -- I think the "blame" here lies not with the Yankees but with MLB and the Player's Union, neither of which have come up with any kind of solution to the inherent financial differences in the teams. I am not aware of any other sport where a large number of teams are simply too poor to compete.

In football and basketball, there are revenue sharing plans that make sense which allow all the teams to compete on at least a slightly more fair playing field. Baseball is the only sport that has neither figured out a way to reign in spending by the big market teams nor has it figured out a way to make sure th smaller market teams spend enough to compete.

--Jason "I mostly blame the union" Evans

[toughbuff1]

Hard to hate the Yanks when they are also giving something back to the fans. They are only charging 25 cents for tickets (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AtZjHBK6bx21jZXTdYApjJQRvLYF?slug=ap-newyankeestadiumopener&prov=ap&type=lgns)to opening day.

--Jason "I think many of us hate the Yanks because we wish our teams could do what they do" Evans

Its not hard to hate the Yankees. Not at all.

[ncexnyc]

the Beantown Bubbas who want to call us the, "Evil Empire." So what do they do after that? They go out and sign Dice-K, Julio Lugo, and J.D. Drew. I guess the old saying, "Imitation is the best form of flattery" is correct.

As for home grown talent, I count Pedoria, Ellsbury, Lowrie, and several pitchers. Oh yeah, I left out Tek, sorry, but he's pretty easy to forget, the guy barely bats his weight.

Hank and Hal might be jerks off the old block like their daddy, but as a Yankee fan, I know they will always do what is necessary to put a quality team on the field.

By the way, we finished in 3rd place last year, but how many clubs in the rest of baseball wouldn't have been happy to be in a pennant race and win as many games as we did last year?

[jimsumner]

I know it might seem like the Yankees are just throwing out money willy-nilly. But read the article I linked. The Yankees have less payroll committed for next season than the 2008 season. Mussina retired and they said bye-bye to Giambi, Abreu, Pudge, Ensberg, and Pavano, among others. Pettite is still up in the air but the Yanks want him to take a pay cut.

During the season they moved high-priced but low-producing players like Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins and let some of the youngsters from the farm system fill those roles.

It would be disingenous to deny that the Yankees have more financial resources than the competition. But they seem to be making prudent financial decisions within those parameters.

For example, they've resisted the urge to buy or trade for a CF and seem inclined to let Cabrera and Gardner fight it out in the spring while they wait for Austin Jackson to claim the job. Guys like Coke and Ramirez are going to get big innings in the pen. They've got a couple of stud minor-league catchers getting ready to take over for Posada/Molina.

So, they are trying to blend free agents and farm-system guys. They aren't just throwing money against the wall to see what sticks.

[Ben63]

I am not aware of any other sport where a large number of teams are simply too poor to compete.


The problem is that some of these so called "small market" teams CHOOSE not to compete, it it not that they don't have the means to do so. The Kansas City Royals, a team long considered too poor, are owned by David Glass who also happens to own Wal-Mart. David Glass has way more money than the Steinbrenner family, but he chooses to keep his personal fortune out of it, and the Yankees are willing to use their own money to field a competitive baseball team.

So it's not that they don't have the means to compete, they CHOOSE not to compete.

[JasonEvans]

The problem is that some of these so called "small market" teams CHOOSE not to compete, it it not that they don't have the means to do so. The Kansas City Royals, a team long considered too poor, are owned by David Glass who also happens to own Wal-Mart. David Glass has way more money than the Steinbrenner family, but he chooses to keep his personal fortune out of it, and the Yankees are willing to use their own money to field a competitive baseball team.

So it's not that they don't have the means to compete, they CHOOSE not to compete.

I am confused. Are you implying that the Yankees, as an operation, will lose money next year and that they are only able to afford this payroll because the Steinbrenners put additional money into the team?

I am fairly certain that is not the case. The problem with baseball is that the Yankees can still turn a profit while carrying something like a $200 million payroll while the Royals cannot turn a profit with a $30 or $40 million payroll. There is no other sport where the disparity is anywhere like that.

--Jason "you now who is to blame for all this? Ted Turner-- the guy who turned 'local cable TV deal' into a mega-money operation" Evans

[Ben63]

I am confused. Are you implying that the Yankees, as an operation, will lose money next year and that they are only able to afford this payroll because the Steinbrenners put additional money into the team?

I am fairly certain that is not the case. The problem with baseball is that the Yankees can still turn a profit while carrying something like a $200 million payroll while the Royals cannot turn a profit with a $30 or $40 million payroll. There is no other sport where the disparity is anywhere like that.

--Jason "you now who is to blame for all this? Ted Turner-- the guy who turned 'local cable TV deal' into a mega-money operation" Evans

I am not saying that Yankees will lose money and will need the Steinbrenner personal fortune to stay afloat. In one of my earlier posts I said there are multiple ways to compete. The Yankees are one of the few teams that can afford to go with the "buy buy buy" method of business. There are other ways that work. Take this years World Series. The Phillies and the Rays both had mostly homegrown guys and eventually the guys matured and came together as a team and had success. Another method is to have some homegrown guys featured with a few big name free agents. It worked with the Marlins in 2003 and failed with the Tigers this past season.

To say small market teams can't compete is unfair. True they cannot compete with the Yankees spending, but they can still compete on the field. Most fans would probably prefer that all teams so it like the Phillies and Rays this season.

Another thing I think we subconsciously get caught up in is the Yankees success over the past century. They have won 26 championships but I think we sometimes forget most of them did not come in the Steinbrenner era. They have only won 6 since 1970.

And I think you may be exactly right about Ted Turner.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

During the season they moved high-priced but low-producing players like Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins and let some of the youngsters from the farm system fill those roles.

Edwar Ramirez performed amazingly, then poorly and then very well again last year in relief, as did Phil Coke late in the year. Whether they will perform that well again next year, Yankee fans can only hope. And if Hughes and Kennedy had matched the performance of the other two neophytes, then Sabathia and Burnette wouldn't have been needed this year, and the Yanks would have a current streak of 14 years in the playoffs instead of 0.

[toughbuff1]

To say small market teams can't compete is unfair. True they cannot compete with the Yankees spending, but they can still compete on the field. Most fans would probably prefer that all teams so it like the Phillies and Rays this season.


And I think you may be exactly right about Ted Turner.

One of the main reasons that the Rays are a good team now is that they were so bad for so long they "earned" numerous number one overall picks in the draft. I have no doubt that when these players are eligible for free agency that they will flock to the teams that are able to throw the most money at them, such as the Yankees and the Red Sox. Say what you will, but the smaller market teams are now at a definite disadvantage, and until/unless there is a salary cap, they always will be.

[sue71]

So the Yanks are now practically giving away tickets to the first two exhibition games in the new stadium.

$.25 seats? Yup. (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Have-25-cents-See-the-first-game-at-new-Yankee-?urn=mlb,131011)

[bluebear]

the Beantown Bubbas who want to call us the, "Evil Empire." So what do they do after that? They go out and sign Dice-K, Julio Lugo, and J.D. Drew. I guess the old saying, "Imitation is the best form of flattery" is correct.

As for home grown talent, I count Pedoria, Ellsbury, Lowrie, and several pitchers. Oh yeah, I left out Tek, sorry, but he's pretty easy to forget, the guy barely bats his weight.



Are you really comparing the contracts of drew, dice-k, and lugo to the 3 the yanks just signed?
You left out Youk..and Tek was not home grown..though he is currently not under contract for the Red Sox anyway.. "A few pitchers" is 40-60% of their starting rotation, their closer, and several of their set up guys. The Sox have been very active since the early 2000s at bringing up a core of young guys (just as the Yankees did in the 90s when they actually won) while plugging in the holes with free agents. I admit freely that they can (and do) still go out and sign players that 75% of teams can't afford but would not go out and spend over 400 million in contracts in one year. The whole system is flawed and what the yankees have done this off season is just an obscenity. I hope they finish 3rd again...

[DukeUsul]

--Jason "I think many of us hate the Yanks because we wish our teams could do what they do" Evans

Nope, not it at all. My team has actually won two championships this century.

:eek:

The Yanks are just funny, considering how much more than the Sox they've been throwing at players and how it doesn't work. They beat out the bidding war for Tex, and it will also probably have no effect. Maybe he'll be just as "clutch" in September as Mr. Rodriguez.

Top Ten payrolls since 1994 (http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=48598)

Some guy on some board used USAToday's historical payroll numbers to collect lists of the Top Ten payrolls since 1994. It's clear that the Yankees started throwing serious money at players around 2000/2001 and put an ever-growing gap between themselves and their competition. But it's been for nothing. When they were the best team in the majors throughout the mid-to-late 90's, their payrolls were not that much higher than the rest of the top ten spenders. Now they're spending fully 50% more than the number 2 team (70M gap ~ 50% of 133M).

So contrary to popular opinion, I would say the Yanks didn't buy their 90's championships. But since then they've been trying to and it hasn't been working. I say let em try.

[ncexnyc]

Are you really comparing the contracts of drew, dice-k, and lugo to the 3 the yanks just signed?
You left out Youk..and Tek was not home grown..though he is currently not under contract for the Red Sox anyway.. "A few pitchers" is 40-60% of their starting rotation, their closer, and several of their set up guys. The Sox have been very active since the early 2000s at bringing up a core of young guys (just as the Yankees did in the 90s when they actually won) while plugging in the holes with free agents. I admit freely that they can (and do) still go out and sign players that 75% of teams can't afford but would not go out and spend over 400 million in contracts in one year. The whole system is flawed and what the yankees have done this off season is just an obscenity. I hope they finish 3rd again...

First off, if you're team wasn't playing in that antiquated stadium, that holds less than 40,000 fans, I could assure you that the Sox would be spending just as much as the Yankees on players.

Secondly, do some reading on the subject, specifically Buster Olney's story, which is currently running on ESPN, which states that your beloved Sox did indeed offer bigtime money for Tex, but it fell just short of the offer the Yankees made.

If you want to claim the Yankees are out to "BUY" a World Series, be honest and admit your last two were done the exact same way.

[jimsumner]

Mike Mussina won 20 games last season. He retired. The Yankees used the free-agent system to replace him. What's wrong with that?

The Yankees made a conscious decision to decline options on Giambi and Abreu, who drove in around 200 runs last season. Why? They wanted to free up money to use on free agents who they thought would improve their team. They used that money on Tex. What's wrong with that?

The Yankees declined an option on Carl Pavano. They got squat from Pavano but used that money to sign a better replacement. What's wrong with that?

Andy Petitte is a free agent. He wants to come back next year but the Yankees want him to take a pay cut. If he retires, they'll likely plug in Hughes, Kennedy, Coke, Acedeves, et. al. from the system. What's the problem?

The Yankees do not have an unlimited budget. Even when they re-sign Pettite, their 2009 payroll will be under their 2008 payroll. People aren't upset that the Yankees are spending too much money. They're upset that the Yankees are spending it wisely.

Are they trying to buy a pennant? Duh. Every contending team that signs a free agent is trying to buy a pennant. The Yankees have been doing that since they got Ruth from Boston. But, please spare me the drama. The system is no more broken now than it was when the Yankees finished third three months ago.

[YmoBeThere]

Tex's contract is a big reason why I'm pessimistic that the Cardinals will be able to keep Pujols. Pujols is better by just about every statistical measure.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/bird-land/bird-land/2008/12/pujols-pending-payday-does-teixeira-mark-the-price/

They'll have him for a another couple of years. Hopefully they can make another run at it during that time.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

How long until Josh Hamilton becomes a "not so free" agent? I would like to see him roaming center field in the new Yankee Stadium on a full time basis in the not too distant future.

And Jim, VERY WELL SAID!

[JasonEvans]

The Yankees do not have an unlimited budget. Even when they re-sign Pettite, their 2009 payroll will be under their 2008 payroll.

I am not so sure about this. It is my understanding that the Yanks currently have $189 committed to payroll next year with 15 players under contract. so, they need another 10 players to have a major league roster (plus there will be some minor leaguers under major league contract for a total of 40 players on the major league payroll).

If they go big-time bargain on the rest of the roster then they can likely keep their payroll under the $209 it was last season. But, I am betting they will be very close to $209 in the end and will likely be over it if they bring Pettite back at $10 million or so.

--Jason "I do agree that the Yanks appear to be spending their money wisely-- but Giambi, Abreu, and Pavano looked like smart investments at the time too" Evans

[duke74]

--Jason "I do agree that the Yanks appear to be spending their money wisely-- but Giambi, Abreu, and Pavano looked like smart investments at the time too" Evans

Jason,

Bobby Abreu was not a signing. The Yankees traded 4 minor leaguers to the Phils on July 30, 2006 for Abreau and Cory Lidle. And, his numbers with the Yankees were very creditable (sorry about the formatting):

Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
08 156 609 100 180 39 4 20 100 287 73 109 22 11 .371 .471 .296
07 158 605 123 171 40 5 16 101 269 84 115 25 8 .369 .445 .283
06 58 209 37 69 16 0 7 42 106 33 52 10 2 .419 .507 .330

He isn't an "inspirational" player, but he played very well with the Yankees. Excellent 2 strike hitter and a patient one. And he seems to meet the criteria the board posters want: Trading deadline acquisition for home-grown prsopects.

[bluebear]

First off, if you're team wasn't playing in that antiquated stadium, that holds less than 40,000 fans, I could assure you that the Sox would be spending just as much as the Yankees on players.

Secondly, do some reading on the subject, specifically Buster Olney's story, which is currently running on ESPN, which states that your beloved Sox did indeed offer bigtime money for Tex, but it fell just short of the offer the Yankees made.

If you want to claim the Yankees are out to "BUY" a World Series, be honest and admit your last two were done the exact same way.

wow..thanks for the info..I had no idea that the sox made a big offer on tex...maybe you should read my post where i admit that the sox can go after players that most other teams can't..my point is that only the Yankees can go out and sign 3 of those players to over 400 million in one off-season...time will tell if it'll work for them but it hasn't over the past 8 years. Payroll withstanding, how did the sox buy their world series wins? A weak argument could be made about 04 but 07? The 07 WS was won largely by home grown Papelbon and Lester and traded for Beckett and Lowell...they are trying to follow the same model that worked for the yanks in the 90s...

[bluebear]

Mike Mussina won 20 games last season. He retired. The Yankees used the free-agent system to replace him. What's wrong with that?

The Yankees made a conscious decision to decline options on Giambi and Abreu, who drove in around 200 runs last season. Why? They wanted to free up money to use on free agents who they thought would improve their team. They used that money on Tex. What's wrong with that?

The Yankees declined an option on Carl Pavano. They got squat from Pavano but used that money to sign a better replacement. What's wrong with that?

Andy Petitte is a free agent. He wants to come back next year but the Yankees want him to take a pay cut. If he retires, they'll likely plug in Hughes, Kennedy, Coke, Acedeves, et. al. from the system. What's the problem?

The Yankees do not have an unlimited budget. Even when they re-sign Pettite, their 2009 payroll will be under their 2008 payroll. People aren't upset that the Yankees are spending too much money. They're upset that the Yankees are spending it wisely.

Are they trying to buy a pennant? Duh. Every contending team that signs a free agent is trying to buy a pennant. The Yankees have been doing that since they got Ruth from Boston. But, please spare me the drama. The system is no more broken now than it was when the Yankees finished third three months ago.

and that payroll will still be 50% higher than the next closest team..I'm not so convinced that they are spending wisely. Tex was a good signing...locking up a great young hitter and stealing him from your rival....but i think even the sox were offering too much. Youk is no Texiera but put up the same numbers last year for under a million. CC and AJ may end up putting them over the top but could also be busts...This was all about the yanks making a statement. They were sick of finishing second..embarrasssed at finishing third and decided just to blow everyone out of the water because they can. The system is more broken now than October for this very reason.

[jimsumner]

So, the Yankees overpaid for everybody. Then, why the angst? Wouldn't the joke be on them? Shouldn't there be dancing and jubiliation across the land?

Oh, I get it. Deep-seated philosophical objections. Right. :)

[bluebear]

So, the Yankees overpaid for everybody. Then, why the angst? Wouldn't the joke be on them? Shouldn't there be dancing and jubiliation across the land?

Oh, I get it. Deep-seated philosophical objections. Right. :)

All 3 may be great for NY..if they overpaid, the joke is only on them if they lose or the players are busts. You can win because you overpaid (or because you paid more than anyone else can)

[brevity]

So, the Yankees overpaid for everybody. Then, why the angst? Wouldn't the joke be on them? Shouldn't there be dancing and jubiliation across the land?

Oh, I get it. Deep-seated philosophical objections. Right. :)

It's slightly more than that for fans of Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixiera. Not to mention the fans of other players who have been assimilated in the past. While I suppose one could root for their individual successes -- fantasy nonsense aside -- he or she would probably want them to have a lousy postseason, if any.

[DukeUsul]

So, the Yankees overpaid for everybody. Then, why the angst? Wouldn't the joke be on them? Shouldn't there be dancing and jubiliation across the land?

Oh, I get it. Deep-seated philosophical objections. Right. :)

Yup. It's funny. The joke is on them every September.