Mark Teixiera introduced as the newest Yankee
Mark Teixiera is now a Yankee. A happy one too. It only took an 8 year, 180 million dollar contract to get him here. As expected, he took Giambi's former jersey number (#25) so everyone with an authentic Giambi Jersey (number, no name on the back) I hope you didn't sell it.
For what its worth from what I gathered from the press conference, Teixiera's happiness to be in New York seemed more legitimate than that of Sabathia and Burnett. Its obvious (whether he ever says it or not) Sabathia is in NY for the money. And who would blame him? I mean, 161 million opposed to what, 110 million? He would be insane not to come to NY for that money. But that doesn't technically mean he wants be here. Thats not to say he wont put his heart into every single pitch he throws for us, because the guy seems like a real workhorse and would have pitched his all even if he played for the Royals for 2 dollars next season.
Burnett on the other hand, seemed excited, but I think it came down to money (he was "offered" the same amount from the Braves) but with the Braves he would have been depended on to be the "ace" of the rotation, and he doesn't seem like the guy that could thrive up top (Halladay in Toronto, and Dontrelle/Beckett in Florida).
Now with Teixiera, every word he spoke yesterday afternoon seemed like it was the God's honest truth. Its obvious (since his agent IS Scott Boras) that he wasn't going to take a lower offer to play for a certain team. But you could tell that he wanted to be a Yankee from the get go. He waited for the Yankees to jump in and make an offer until he made his choice. Could he have taken the Red Sox 170 million dollar offer that was on the table for about 2 weeks? Or the Nationals 180+ million dollar offer that was on the table? Certainly. But he didn't. His favorite player growing up (Mattingly) is a popular discussion point when talking about Teixiera this offseason, and though I think it made no difference in the decision, I do believe he wanted to be here all along. He said he knew he wanted to be a Yankee about 2 weeks before Christmas, which is 12 days before an offer was announced (same day as he accepted the offer). He, and Scott Boras mentioned that the Yankees and Teixiera were in "discussions" all along, and while that may be true, I believe it was only to draw the price up for the Red Sox. I dont believe the Yankees had interest in actually signing him, or at least showed any interest until the day before or the day that Teixiera was signed.
I'll be the first person to admit that I really had little-to-no interest in signing Teixiera, as I had already accepted the fact that he was a Red Sock. And don't get me wrong, I believe Teixiera is the best first baseman in the entire league (don't worry, i'm not even going to compare him to Pujols as Pujols is in his own league). Not just offensively, but defensively, the Yankees got one of if not the best (excluding Pujols again) overall First Baseman in the entire league. My only problem from the start has been the money. Is Teixiera the third best offensive/defensive player behind Arod, and Jeter? Now you may say Jeter isn't the second best offensive/defensive player (nor do I think he's even close) but Jeter brings more to the Yankees than his on-the-field stats. There are many different opinions about the money Teixiera is being paid (more negative comments from Sox fans of course) I just don't think Teixiera is worth 180 million dollars. But I guess we'll just have to see come to next few years.
The Latest on Pettitte
As most fans already know, Andy Pettitte declined the Yankees 1 year 10 million dollar offer that was on the table. Now the Yankees plan on making a smaller offer to Pettitte. It seems as though the Yankees are sick of playing games. Both parts obviously want to be together in the end, so why not just get something done? This should have been wrapped up before Free Agency even started. From the start, Pettitte said he only wanted to play with the Yankees, and now all of a sudden he's "making up" 3 year offers which haven't been confirmed by anyone. If he wants to play here, why won't he just man up and take the 10 million? His 2008 numbers prove that he doesn't even deserve that much, its the Yankees being generous. Don't get me wrong, in my opinion the Yankees need Pettitte because they lack the veteran presence in the rotation. As of today the rotation would be:
Sabathia (28)
Wang (28)
Burnett (33)
Chamberlain (23)
Hughes (22)
Burnett may be 33 years old, but he hasn't pitched enough to be a "veteran" for the team. So my advice to both the Yankees and Pettitte: Andy, your not going to get much (if any) more from any other team, and if you want to be a Yankee so bad like you say, you'll stop being stingy and take what the Yankees offer. Don't forget the support your fans gave you after the whole steroid bullsh*t that occured before last season.
Just get it done.
Yankees sign Angel Berroa to minor league deal
Ken Rosenthal of Fox reported that the Yankees have signed Angel Berroa to a minor league contract.
Since his rookie season, Berroa really has been a let down. Obviously with the signing being for the minors, the Yankees don't expect him to come in and be an integral part of the team. He will likely compete with Cody Ransom for the utility job during Spring Training. I for one am a fan of this deal. Its such a low risk signing for a kid that can come in and play when Jeter or Cano need to rest. Obviously he's not going to come in and be a savior off the bench, and it would be idiotic to think that, but for a potential bench player, its a good signing.
Duel Yankees Find Themselves Wearing New (and 1 familiar) uniform
On tuesday Carl Pavano signed a 1 year 1.5 million dollar contract with the Cleveland Indians with 5.3 Million more in incentive bonus' (possibly if he makes more than 10 starts, which would be more games than the last 3 with the Yankees).
As much as I hope he does terrible for the Indians because of what he put Yankee fans through the last 4 years, but I really believe the guy will have a decent year this season. I can honestly see him winning about 13 games this season.
Also on tuesday, Jason Giambi signed a 1 year deal with his former team (Athletics) worth about 4.5 Million.
I like this deal for the A's. I don't think people realize that Giambi had a pretty good season in 2008, worth more than 4.5 million in my opinion. He gets to live close to his home in Las Vegas and gets to return to his former team, although I don't believe Billy Beane has kept any of G's former teamates.
