Who knew the Yankees had the money for a free agent? This is actually a bit of a surprise as most writers had him going to the Red Sox or Nationals. I’m glad the Yankees got him, but they are still pretty old in a number of spots (Damon, Jeter, Posada, Matsui.)
I still get more enjoyment out of seeing young players develop in the organization, but with the Yankees that just doesn’t happen that often.
Stephen A. Smith is pushingfor the Yankees to get Manny Ramirez.
Edited to Add: Goddammit. Fuckin’ Yankees.
One wonders if this isn’t the worst Yankee buy-em-all offseason ever.
I was so sure that John Henry’s news about the Sox being out of the running last week was a gigantic fake-out.
In terms of money spent, it absolutely is the “worst.” In terms of productivity gained, we’ll just have to wait and see. My bet would be on Burnett to be the biggest bust, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I’m very happy because I’ve been saying offseason they should make a hardcore effort to get Teixeira. I was leery of paying tons of longterm money to pitchers, but this is a switch-hitting position player in his prime, and a good defensive player. No reservations about this move, although I wasn’t sure they could find the money.
A Teixeira-Ortiz combination (if Ortiz is healthy) also would’ve been scary. I’d still like some changes in the outfield, but this is a big deal, and unlike Sabathia and especially Burnett, I don’t have any reservations about it.
Wow, that’s a lot of money but you gotta respect the ability to pull the trigger. I think the Yankees are trying to buy a WS again, but hey, it sometimes works.
Burnett is probably going to be a bust; as talented as he is, he’s a head case and has never really been an excellent pticher. I guess you never know, but at 32 years old it’s not like he has a lot of potential left to tap.
But Teixiera is a huge acquisition and Sabathia’s as safe a bet as a pitcher can be. When was the last time a team actually got this many A-list free agents? It’s ridiculous.
You know, it’s amazing that every pundit that’s out there has pretty much labeled Burnett as a bust, but at that cash and with that fanfare, if he doesn’t win 15 to 20 games, he’s a “Bust”. I think he was just the next best available and the Yankees overpaid for it.
Why is everyone largely ignoring the headline pitchers available in the other league?
It is. It’s also worth noting that since Yankees won’t be paying Giambi, Pavano, Abreu or Mussina next year, their total salaries should still be less than they were a year ago even with those three guys in the $20 million range. And they’ll still probably go for another pitcher.
Isn’t that absolutely nuts? It just goes to show you how much money they’ve just passed out there.
Isn’t Kevin Brown still on the roster?
Yes, that last part was a joke.
It did time out well for the Yanks. They had the most money coming off the books than any team ever has and the economy collapsed for the Hot Stove season.
Do you realize that even after picking up 3 of the top 5 Free Agents on the market the Yanks still have some moeny to spend and some players to trade?
This is the pool of vets and kids I think are up for trade:
Matsui (DH/LF) Only one year left and a 100 RBI guy that just really isn’t needed on the Yanks.
Nick Swisher (1b/OF) now not needed as Teixeira landed in the Yanks laps.
Melky Cabrera (OF) some think removing Cano’s drinking buddy will be good for Cano and many in the organization are apparently done on Melky.
Ian Kennedy (SP) of course.
A variety of live arms in the bullpen. I think the Yanks have 2-3 spare this year.
Bullpen
M. Rivera (CL)
D. Marte
B. Bruney
J. Albaladejo
J. Veras
E. Ramirez
D. Robertson
P. Coke
C. Britton
D. Geiss
There is also Kei Igawa.
Teixeira to the Yanks makes more sense than the pitchers, frankly; that was the huge hole in their lineup and it’ll help them more day to day than the other acquisitions. I’m sort of surprised that he wasn’t their #1 target from the start. Boras probably has to be a little disappoined that her could only get the eight years rather than the ten . . . but at the same time he has to be a bit happy he got the Yankees to swoop in with an offer when the Red Sox called his bluff (correctly, as there was no offer at the time higher than their 8/170).
Anyways, what will make this REAL funny is if they end up grabbing Manny at 20 or 25 a year to “play” left field! 'Cause then instead of having the four highest paid players in the majors, they’d have the five highest, and that would be that much better . . .
They really did not have that much trouble scoring. Pitching wins.
Then why did the team with the best pitching in the division finish fourth? Hitting helps too. And defense. Both of which Teixeria provides massive upgrades of.
Speaking as a Jays fan: I wish.
Actually, the 2008 Yankees were the worst offense they’ve put in the field in years. They finished 7th in the league in scoring, their lowest ranking in twelve years.
The only team in their division that beat them was Boston. That includes some Yanks that were disappointing last year. Boston did not beat them by much.
They did not get much help from Pudge either. But aa lot of performances were down. Must be the steroid crackdown.
It may be time to recalibrate what a good season is. 70 hr seasons are gone again.
I hate the F’in Yankees, and they are making it harder to watch baseball period.
The Yankees are? Why is that?