Posted by: Seamus
It seems even the man who some think could be the primary reason Andy Pettitte might join the Dodgers doesn't think he's going to be playing there in 2009. When asked about the possibility, Torre reportedly responded by saying, "I don't think that's going to happen."
From Newsday's Ken Davidoff:
Seems more and more like any inquiry by the agent into the Dodgers' interest in Pettitte was simply a move to draw in a competitor and bump up the Yankees' offer a bit.
From Newsday's Ken Davidoff:
While Torre and Pettitte have a strong relationship built during those championship years, Torre said that he didn't initiate contact with Pettitte this offseason, and that he thinks Pettitte's strong desire is to return to the Yankees. Pettitte, nevertheless, has refused to agree to a $10 million salary for 2009, after making $16 million each of the last two seasons.
"I talked to Andy," Torre said. "His agent had called the Dodgers to find out about interest, and that's when I called him. I had talked to Andy much earlier, asking him to come to my (Safe at Home) Foundation dinner. He was always married to the Yankees, the excitement playing for the Yankees.
"I talked to Andy," Torre said. "His agent had called the Dodgers to find out about interest, and that's when I called him. I had talked to Andy much earlier, asking him to come to my (Safe at Home) Foundation dinner. He was always married to the Yankees, the excitement playing for the Yankees.
Seems more and more like any inquiry by the agent into the Dodgers' interest in Pettitte was simply a move to draw in a competitor and bump up the Yankees' offer a bit.
12/04: New Yankee Stadium Photos
Posted by: Seamus
Newsday has put up new photos of the new Yankee Stadium as the stadium reaches completion. Most of the photos depict the uprooting of the Babe Ruth monument from the old Monument Park. On November 21, it was reported that the stadium was around 90% complete.
New photo galleries posted on the Yanks' official website can also be found here and here. Pretty cool stuff.
New photo galleries posted on the Yanks' official website can also be found here and here. Pretty cool stuff.
Posted by: Patrick
Jack Curry of the Times reports that the Yankees have extended a one year, $10 million dollar to free agent Andy Pettitte. However, his agents are insisting that he wants the same salary that he had in 2008, $16 million. For his part, Pettitte maintains that he wants to remain in the Bronx.
"I mean, to tell you the truth, like I’ve told you all a hundred times, I’ve made it loud and clear where I’d like to play at," Pettitte told Curry. "I’m just basically sitting here letting my agents do their job really."
Via Yahoo!
"I mean, to tell you the truth, like I’ve told you all a hundred times, I’ve made it loud and clear where I’d like to play at," Pettitte told Curry. "I’m just basically sitting here letting my agents do their job really."
Via Yahoo!
Posted by: Patrick
"Sources" have told Mark Feinsand of the Daily News that the Braves are preparing to offer free agent starter A.J. Burnett a five year deal. It has been reported previously that the Yankees were not willing to offer that many years.
Honestly, I'm not in love with Burnett and, as long as he's out of the AL East, I'm not bothered by the Yankees failing to sign him, especially with the length of the deal and the investment needed. He'll be 32 on opening day and last season was just the third season in which he's pitched more than 173.1 innings. Against the Yankees, he's 6-3 with a 2.43 ERA. Against everyone else, he's 81-73 with a 3.89 ERA.
Via Dave and Aziz.
Honestly, I'm not in love with Burnett and, as long as he's out of the AL East, I'm not bothered by the Yankees failing to sign him, especially with the length of the deal and the investment needed. He'll be 32 on opening day and last season was just the third season in which he's pitched more than 173.1 innings. Against the Yankees, he's 6-3 with a 2.43 ERA. Against everyone else, he's 81-73 with a 3.89 ERA.
Via Dave and Aziz.
Posted by: Patrick
From MLB.com's Lyle Spencer spoke with Angels general manager Tony Reagins, who said that free agent first baseman Mark Teixeria remains the club's top priority. He denied reports that the Angels have turned their attention to CC Sabathia.
Via Ben.
Via Ben.
Posted by: Seamus
Definitely a stretch, but Buster Olney speculates that the fact that LeBron James might possibly play in New York in two years will factor into CC Sabathia's decision on whether to join the Yankees. To be fair to Buster, it's not as if he came out and said that it would be the #1 factor, but it's somehow all tied into the fact that CC was happy to reunite with his buddy David Riske when he was traded to Milwaukee.
What does this all mean? It means that every other player waiting on CC to set the market has made for a pretty slow start to this offseason. I would guess that CC will be a Yankee, but if it comes down to friendships or something like that, I don't really see New York in his future. I'm not going to go write on a different blog because I feel like a friend might start writing there in two years.
I think if it came to something like that, he'd want to be closer to his hometown. But just how interested are the Angels really in pursuing CC Sabathia? I'm not sure why they would put that kind of emphasis on starting pitching when they already have such an abundance of it. I mean that would be kind of like the Yankees trading for the best shortstop in baseball when they already have Derek Je...oh, wait.
Sabathia developed a friendship, through his years in Cleveland, with LeBron James, as the two became the biggest stars in a small town. They have bopped around New York together in the past, and Friday the Knicks made trades that are being viewed as precursors to their pursuit, in another 20 months, of James.
Presumably, at some point, Sabathia and James have shared a conversation about living and playing in New York at the same time -- Sabathia for the Yankees, James for the Knicks. James, as the world famously learned in the playoffs of 2007, is a Yankees fan.
Presumably, at some point, Sabathia and James have shared a conversation about living and playing in New York at the same time -- Sabathia for the Yankees, James for the Knicks. James, as the world famously learned in the playoffs of 2007, is a Yankees fan.
What does this all mean? It means that every other player waiting on CC to set the market has made for a pretty slow start to this offseason. I would guess that CC will be a Yankee, but if it comes down to friendships or something like that, I don't really see New York in his future. I'm not going to go write on a different blog because I feel like a friend might start writing there in two years.
I think if it came to something like that, he'd want to be closer to his hometown. But just how interested are the Angels really in pursuing CC Sabathia? I'm not sure why they would put that kind of emphasis on starting pitching when they already have such an abundance of it. I mean that would be kind of like the Yankees trading for the best shortstop in baseball when they already have Derek Je...oh, wait.
Posted by: Patrick
The SportsBusiness Journal reports on the results of the Turnkey Brand Index survey. From the article:
The Yankees placed first with a score of 400.76, which indicates that they have three times as many fans, outside of their local market, than the average team does. The Green Bay Packers (381.73) and Boston Red Sox (337.29) came in second and third, respectively.
Via Peter Abraham via Maury Brown.
While the Turnkey Brand Index measures the strength of a brand in its market, the study did ask fans if they root for teams from outside their markets. The results yield a strong indication of which teams truly carry strong, national brands.
The Yankees placed first with a score of 400.76, which indicates that they have three times as many fans, outside of their local market, than the average team does. The Green Bay Packers (381.73) and Boston Red Sox (337.29) came in second and third, respectively.
Via Peter Abraham via Maury Brown.
Posted by: Seamus
That's right, folks. After much speculation, it turns out that Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu and Pudge Rodriguez will all be waking up on Christmas morning to find no present under the tree from the Yankees. Peter Abraham says that the Yankees "remain engaged with Pettitte and Abreu," however.
When you actually sit down and look at it, there aren't any real surprises here. Not quite sure why Mr. Abraham expected Pettitte to get an offer. If the Yankees were going to give him $16 million again he'd be on the books already. I'd like to have Pettitte back, but it would be rediculous at that price. $10-12 million seems like enough.
Pudge's case is obvious, of course. He isn't going to turn down $13.5 million+.
The only real tough decision here was on Bobby Abreu. Abreu is not THAT old (he is 34) and he can still rake. I don't think he's a $16M/yr player anymore, but one would think that he'd at least be able to get a two or three-year deal from somebody. Seemingly, though, he hasn't been getting too many calls so the Yanks went ahead and weighed the risk of losing a draft pick versus having to pay him $16 million again next season. When you're looking into possibly throwing a combined $200 million this offseason into CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett/Derek Lowe, I guess the bigger risk is in having to fork over the dough to Abreu.
When you actually sit down and look at it, there aren't any real surprises here. Not quite sure why Mr. Abraham expected Pettitte to get an offer. If the Yankees were going to give him $16 million again he'd be on the books already. I'd like to have Pettitte back, but it would be rediculous at that price. $10-12 million seems like enough.
Pudge's case is obvious, of course. He isn't going to turn down $13.5 million+.
The only real tough decision here was on Bobby Abreu. Abreu is not THAT old (he is 34) and he can still rake. I don't think he's a $16M/yr player anymore, but one would think that he'd at least be able to get a two or three-year deal from somebody. Seemingly, though, he hasn't been getting too many calls so the Yanks went ahead and weighed the risk of losing a draft pick versus having to pay him $16 million again next season. When you're looking into possibly throwing a combined $200 million this offseason into CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett/Derek Lowe, I guess the bigger risk is in having to fork over the dough to Abreu.
Posted by: Patrick
Today marks the deadline for team's to offer arbitration to their free agents to be. Arbitration isn't just about securing a player, but also about securing draft picks in the event that the player moves on to another team. For the sake of draft pick compensation, players are organized into two categories: Type A and Type B.
Type A free agents net the losing team two picks, one of which is forfeited by the team that signs the player. Type B free agents net the losing team one pick, but it is a supplemental pick and is not taken away from another team.
The Yankees Type A free agents include Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Ivan Rodriguez. The Type B free agents are Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. The downside of offering a player arbitration is that he might actually take it (*cough* Pavano *cough*). That's why you don't want to offer arbitration to everyone. While suggesting that we should offer arbitration to Pettitte, Mike says that no one has ever had their salary decreased through arbitration.
Part of me would like to see the Yankees offer Carl Pavano arbitration just so that we could see how that case would play out. Would the arbiter really give him a raise? It's also hard for me to think that Jason Giambi would be worth more than the $21 million he was paid in 2008.
What will the Yankees do? Peter Abraham guesses that they will make offers to Abreu, Mussina and Pettitte. Meanwhile, Ken Davidoff says that only Abreu is "likely" to receive an offer.
I would like to see them do as Abraham suggests. Mussina is retired, but in case he has any second thoughts, there is no risk in offering it. Pettitte would be good to get back, even at a slight raise.
Though I would consider Abreu to be overpaid, the truth is that the free agent market for corner outfielders doesn't exactly knock you over. And Xavier Nady isn't what I would call a proven commodity at this point, being that he is a .280 average/.335 on base percentage/.458 slugging percentage hitter for his career. Abreu may be on the decline, but given our roster and the market, he's worth having.
Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano and Ivan Rodriguez all make too much to be seriously considered. We have no place for Pudge. Really, we've been counting the days until the contracts of Giambi and, especially, Pavano would be up. Giambi has been a valuable player, but his inconsistency has been an issue. I wouldn't mind having him back in a lesser role, but him leaving might be for the best. We can give Hideki Matsui the DH role and find a first baseman who is better with the glove than Giambi was.
Type A free agents net the losing team two picks, one of which is forfeited by the team that signs the player. Type B free agents net the losing team one pick, but it is a supplemental pick and is not taken away from another team.
The Yankees Type A free agents include Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Ivan Rodriguez. The Type B free agents are Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. The downside of offering a player arbitration is that he might actually take it (*cough* Pavano *cough*). That's why you don't want to offer arbitration to everyone. While suggesting that we should offer arbitration to Pettitte, Mike says that no one has ever had their salary decreased through arbitration.
Part of me would like to see the Yankees offer Carl Pavano arbitration just so that we could see how that case would play out. Would the arbiter really give him a raise? It's also hard for me to think that Jason Giambi would be worth more than the $21 million he was paid in 2008.
What will the Yankees do? Peter Abraham guesses that they will make offers to Abreu, Mussina and Pettitte. Meanwhile, Ken Davidoff says that only Abreu is "likely" to receive an offer.
I would like to see them do as Abraham suggests. Mussina is retired, but in case he has any second thoughts, there is no risk in offering it. Pettitte would be good to get back, even at a slight raise.
Though I would consider Abreu to be overpaid, the truth is that the free agent market for corner outfielders doesn't exactly knock you over. And Xavier Nady isn't what I would call a proven commodity at this point, being that he is a .280 average/.335 on base percentage/.458 slugging percentage hitter for his career. Abreu may be on the decline, but given our roster and the market, he's worth having.
Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano and Ivan Rodriguez all make too much to be seriously considered. We have no place for Pudge. Really, we've been counting the days until the contracts of Giambi and, especially, Pavano would be up. Giambi has been a valuable player, but his inconsistency has been an issue. I wouldn't mind having him back in a lesser role, but him leaving might be for the best. We can give Hideki Matsui the DH role and find a first baseman who is better with the glove than Giambi was.
11/29: The Catchers
Posted by: Patrick
Cliff Corcoran at Bronx Banter has an in depth look at the catchers in the Yankees organization, as well as what might be available through free agency in terms of a back up for Jorge Posada.
