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Cash Money

All I want for Christmas is…

gg

EVERYTHING.

According to Buster Olney at ESPN, Mark Teixeira is going to be a Yankee.

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75 comments

1 Yankee Mama   ~  Dec 23, 2008 3:41 pm

Yes, as it happens, this is what I wanted for x-mas. Thanks so much. Greed is good. PTL

2 Simone   ~  Dec 23, 2008 3:44 pm

Ha. Told you that Texeira was still a possibility. Makes me very happy.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

3 zack   ~  Dec 23, 2008 3:48 pm

Wow. Just Wow. Its liek the Yankees have done everything I wanted them to do this offseason. What a lineup. What a rotation. AND what a farm system still. The Yankees have managed to younger, better, and hella more expensive without losing a single valuable thing except money.

Soooo, What happens with Swisher and CF now? Damon and Swish and Gardner split between LF and CF with matsui pretty much full tiem DHing?

4 The Mick536   ~  Dec 23, 2008 3:57 pm

Light the lights of Hanukah. Oh myyyy God. Please be true. Jodi and Betty be very happy tonight. As am I. Bye, bye, Jason, bye, bye. Wake up Cano. ARod has protection in the lineup and a big, able target at first. Say hello to defense. Score me some runs and not give up any.

When was the last 3-6-3?

5 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:02 pm

[0] Following last week's column. I expect this press conference to be the same show of pomposity and fakeness. ... However, I believe this is the signing the Yankees absolutely had to have, including Sabathia. Burnett, I still disagree with vehemently, especially the five-year commitment.

I have no idea what I'm going to write now. Bear in mind, I wasn't railing against the Yankees' greed in my column last week, just the overall snobby air of their press conferences. I guess now, hey, if you can afford these guys, you have a right to look down on every other team in the league. Feel free to call me a hypocrite. You'll be right.

6 Joel   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:03 pm

All in.

7 unmoderated   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:05 pm

Cliff can come off the ledge now. Huzzah!

8 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:06 pm

[3] My thoughts ... Now Matsui, Damon and Nady (arbitration eligible), are all expendable. Matsui and Damon are both defensive liabilities. Of the two, I think Damon has more value as a two-way player. I'd look for some kind of trade value for Matsui and do so now. The Yankees can cover the balance of his salary.

I'd make Damon the everyday DH, bat Brett Gardner ninth and keep him as the full-time CF. As Steve Goldman said last week, they need to get more athletic. He gives them that and can be a .350-plus OBP guy. Last year was an aberration in that regard, given his history. I'd sign Nady as another righty power bat and keep him in left. Put Swisher in RF. Damon and Melky as your backup OFs, but have Damon as your full-time DH.

The other thing this does: three full-time switch-hitters in the lineup, and now another one on the bench. Devastating.

9 Joseph   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:08 pm

Start spreadin' the news...........WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

10 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:10 pm

I had the shot.

There was no danger.

I took it.

11 monkeypants   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:10 pm

If this happens, I have to admit that it feels a little unseemly to me. Somehow wrong. Then again, that's one heckuva roster next year. And the following year, even more dead wood comes off the books (unless they are able to trade away Matsui).

One question: is Pettitte-to-Yankees still "inevitable"? I think that the Yankees actually will not sign Andy.

12 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:11 pm

[8] Yeah in the grand scheme of things I sort of feel like Matsui is - sadly - the odd man out. I loved him from start to finish (?) in his time here - there was rarely anyone I'd prefer at the plate when it counted - but his time may now be up.

Nady/Gardner/Swisher in the OF with Damon as DH/back up OF sounds about fine to me.

This line up will rake. Here comes another MVP for ARod...and 120 runs+ each for Damon and Jeter...

13 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:11 pm

[11] Agreed on all counts. I don't think Pettitte's return is inevitable. I think it would have been if they did not land Teixeira. I think they would have come up to $13-$15 million if that happened.

14 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:12 pm

[11] I think Andy's on the phone RIGHT NOW with Cash begging him to let the $10 mm offer stand, so he can take it. He can smell a winner . . .

15 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:13 pm

[14] Andy might be asking for more $$, since the Yankees showed a commitment of $20 million a year for Tex. The Yankees let him go unceremoniously once already. I can see it happening again.

16 tommyl   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:14 pm

Now *this* is a move I heartily approve of. Makes the team, younger, better offensively and defensively. Now, the question is what to do with the OF glut? I say trade Nady while his stock his high and plug Swisher in.

17 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:15 pm

[15] I don't know about that. Yes, they've paid up for others this month - in a big way. But if anything I think the Yanks want to spend $10mm on Andy less now than they did 8 hours ago. I think Andy should consider himself lucky if the 10mm is still on the table...

18 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:16 pm

BTW I'm going to pretend to go to work tomorrow so I can listen to Kellerman :)

19 Diane Firstman   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:16 pm

[11]

Well, I for one would love to see a salary cap, as a way of helping maintain competitive balance. (And yes, I know that just because a team receives money from the luxury tax doesn't mean they spend it wisely ...)

Small-market teams can contend for a year or two at a time, then their home-grown talent gets too expensive, and the big market clubs swoop in. If the small-market team is lucky, and has a lot of home-grown talent come up at the same time, they MIGHT be able to contend for more than a couple of years at a time.

That being said, you gotta admire the b***s of the Yankees ....

20 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:17 pm

[17] Agreed again. It would not surprise me, though, to see Phil Hughes, IPK, Phil Coke or Aceves plugged in to that fifth spot. If the offer is still there, Pettitte should definitely take it because the carrot won't be there too much longer.

21 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:17 pm

I think Matsui will have to prove his value during ST, after which he'll be traded...

22 Just Fair   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:18 pm

Though I was never a Teixeira drum banger, I won't complain. : ) Holy smokes. Now what, sign Manny to be the back-up catcher. Ha.

23 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:19 pm

[20] Yeah the sentimentalist in me says 'screw it - bring Andy back for 1 more year' but the realist in me thinks a 5th starter (or two!) can be found among the crew you outline...

24 Diane Firstman   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:20 pm

[22]

Matsui, Ian Kennedy and Cano for Michael Young and Taylor Teagarden perhaps?

25 Yankee Mama   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:21 pm

Yeah, and Andy will say, "I was just waiting to see if the Yankees were willing to invest in a winning team."

26 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:22 pm

HA! Someone give me a booby prize. I started to sense this yesterday and called it in the need of the day comments. Or was it on Sunday? Anyway- I win something, right?

27 Will Weiss   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:27 pm

[26] Alex and Cliff will give you a paddleball, in lieu of pay, like Gov. Lapetomaine from "Blazing Saddles."

This is not unlike 2004, when they laid in the weeds after the A-Rod-to-Boston trade fell through and Cashman swooped in with the Soriano-for-A-Rod coup.

28 joejoejoe   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:28 pm

Cash money from the Japanese market helps pay the salaries of all of the Yankees' new toys so I don't see Godzilla playing outside of NY while he can still swing a bat.

29 Raf   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:30 pm

Small-market teams can contend for a year or two at a time, then their home-grown talent gets too expensive

Those small market teams have bigger issues than that. That certainly isn't the reasons that say, the Pirates, have been bad for so long.

I suggest those teams plow their resources into scouting & development, and making astute trades. Oakland can contend, the Twins can contend, the Brewers can contend. Provided a team has a competent FO, they can contend :)

30 Diane Firstman   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:30 pm

Now I really hope the City doesn't pony up more tax-exempt bonds for the Yanks ...

31 Raf   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:33 pm

[30]

I wish they didn't pony up for them in the first place, but I don't run things...

32 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:33 pm

[26] Sorry big boy I was all over this a few days ago in posts all over the place. It smelled like some combination of the Damon and Beltran situations. Anyway, we're both right, and it looks like we both get paddleballs :)

[28] I don't know about that - the Yanks knew that Matsui was gone after next year *anyway*. I can't imagine they realistically thought they'd resign him then. Yes, the Japanese TV deal loses value (or goes away) but it was going to happen next year anyway.

33 Diane Firstman   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:33 pm

[29]

I don't disagree that small market teams can contend through scouting and player development .... I'm just pointing out that its harder for them to retain that talent on a long-term basis .... they become assembly lines/feeders for the big market teams.

Sure, the Pirates are inept and the A's are smart in terms of their small market management, but in terms of the macroeconomic view, the table is definitely tilted towards the bigger market clubs.

34 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:35 pm

Damn you guys need to stop thinking Matsui's getting traded.

35 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:38 pm

[34] Why do you say that? I think it's extremely likely at this point, provided he shows he can still in fact swing the bat during spring training. He was gone post 2009 anyway...

36 Yankee Mama   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:39 pm

Even if things are tilted towards bigger market clubs, that doesn't guarantee a trip to the fall classic.

Anyway, Tex came from a big market team and Moreno had money to spend. The Nationals apparently bid competitively. How high is their payroll?

37 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:39 pm

From the NYPost:

The Yanks will now try to trade at least one player from the group of Damon, Matsui, Nady and Nick Swisher to unclog a logjam in the corner outfield/DH/first base areas, while also trying to reduce some payroll. The player the Yanks would most like to move is Matsui, who is due $13 million a year. The Angels, after failing to land Teixeira, are among the teams looking for a productive bat and have room at DH. The Rangers New York Rangers , A's and Rays also could fall into that category.

38 RIYank   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:44 pm

Happy.

Just dropped by to say that.

39 Diane Firstman   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:44 pm

[37]

New York Rangers ????

Now I know its just a typo .... but I'm trying to imagine Hideki on hockey skates ....

40 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:48 pm

[39] Yeah that's funny :) Personally I think homey don't skate but you never know!

I will be sad to see Matsui go, whether this year or next. He always seemed to fit the mold of the dynasty teams, even though he was after the fact. Alas..certainly among the 4 cited in the Post he's the most expensive by far considering that it's widely assumed he can't play the field regularly anymore. At least JD can shag flies in LF.

41 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 4:53 pm

[35] As far as I know, Matsui has a no-trade clause. I've read this more than once ... So it's up to him whether he goes or no, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to.

My vote: Just trade Swisher. Easy in, easy out. I like everyone else. The Yanks need Damon still. A good lead-off man is hard to find, and he's still good. Hopefully.

42 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:01 pm

[41] Agreed on Damon for sure.

And yes, to my understanding Matsui has a no-trade clause (though what's interesting is that some of the Tex reports say that the no-trade clause he is being given by the Yanks is something the Yanks have not done before, so I'm not sure which is correct). For Matsui, I think it will come down to what the Yankees tell him. If they tell him he'll be a full time DH (or gasp a big bat off the bench) then how will that sit with him? If it rankles, he'd approve a trade to a couple spots I'd think, especially since it'd only be for 1 year.

43 Mattpat11   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:06 pm

If not for the Burnett Blunder, or maybe even with it, this off season makes me quite happy.

44 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:11 pm

[43] Come on Mattpat, even the most curmudgeonly grinchy grinchster of a Yankees fan should feel good about this off season! :-D

Think of AJ this way - if he gives us 150 innings/year - which is what his track record more or less suggests - then it will be good, no? 750 innings over 5 years - that's almost 4 years worth of starting pitching innings! :-D

45 thelarmis   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:21 pm

[41] i think Swish should stay. i'd rather see Nady go. damon has value, but i'd like to keep him for the year. i love Mats, but if we can move him, i say do it.

i'm a little slow, took me awhile to realize there'd be a new post about Tex. damn drummers...

[22] get yerself a brand new pair of stix and start bangin' the Tex Drum!!! hitting things is fun, esp little white round orbs w/ red stitching! : )

[5] i, for one, very much look forward to the Tex press conference, done up Yankees style!!!

btw, Paddleball RULES!!! i wish i still played. i played ALL the time as a kid growing up and competed regularly. my pop and brother still play occasionally. nobody knows that sport here in the southeast... : /

46 Mattpat11   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:22 pm

Sony,

I'll look at it this way. For the next two weeks or so, I'll pretend the AJ signing never happened and revel in our new ace and first baseman.

47 Raf   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:24 pm

I’m just pointing out that its harder for them to retain that talent on a long-term basis …. they become assembly lines/feeders for the big market teams.

Not necessarily true; The Royals traded Damon & Beltran to the A's & Astros respectively. The Rockies traded Holliday to the A's. The Twins had Johan Santana for 8 years, 4 of which the Twins made the playoffs, and the season after he was traded, they finished a game out.

There are several other motivating factors than salary relief for a small market team making a trade, those shouldn't be discounted either.

48 Joel   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:36 pm

Bobby V. now on speed-dial.

49 rbj   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:49 pm

I wasn't going to log in over Christmas vacation, but I gotta say:

Merry Christmas!

50 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 5:51 pm

[41]"Swish"??? Not a game in pinstripes, and you gave him a nickname already??? HA

51 monkeypants   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:02 pm

[45] I like keeping Nady and Swisher, if only because they can play some defensive positions. Damon as well is decent with the glove in LF and can still spot start in CF. But Matsui is *at best* a slightly bad LF (and realistically, he is worse), and more or less a full time DH. He can still hit when healthy, but that also means he has possibly the most trade value.

52 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:12 pm

[51] The more I think about it, the more I feel that while Matsui does in fact seem the likeliest man out when the music stops, the more I'd love it if we had him as a huge stick off the bench, part-time DH type. Thinking here about the years we had Rock Raines, Chili D, etc.

53 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:14 pm

You know I'd like to call Gammons right now and give him one big shit burger to eat. Good thing it's Christmas. That Bosox shill has been driving me nuts with his not-remotely-unbiased "reporting" of late.

54 monkeypants   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:16 pm

[52] Strawberry is the better comparison, but point taken.

I guess they could go with Teix 1B, Damon LF, Matsui DH, Gardner or Melky at CF, and Swisher or Nady at RF. Trade Nady then?

55 seamus   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:30 pm

I didn't think this was gonna happen. my first thought: protection for Arod? are we batting tex 4th?

56 Mattpat11   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:35 pm

Frankly

I always want to feed Peter Gammons a shit sandwhich, regardless of the day's news.

57 monkeypants   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:41 pm

[55] I imagine so, unless you bat Teix 3rd and A-Rod 4th:

Damon (L)
Jeter (R)
Teixeira (S)
A-Rod (R)
Posada (S)
Matsui ? (L)
Nady (R)/Swisher (S)
Cano (L)
Melky (S)

58 Chyll Will   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:42 pm

[56] Well, Sons of Bill Simmons, whom were quoted in the comments in Diane's morning post, is having a snack pack right now. Heyman, who was getting slapped around all day, is probably selling them by the gross now...

59 Mattpat11   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:43 pm

Speaking of neutral ESPN reporters, has Steve Berthiaume stopped sobbing yet?

60 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:48 pm

I thought this gentleman blogger more or less summed it up: http://tinyurl.com/9wxtvr

61 seamus   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:50 pm

[57] Yeah. I thought about that. But then I thought arod with protection is wow! but I think arod is a more prototypical #4, at least at first glance. what happens with the quad of Damon/Matsui/Nady/Swisher matters a lot now.

62 Mattpat11   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:53 pm

Buster Olney just said the five most beautiful words I've heard all off season.

"Bad Day for Jason Varitek"

63 RIYank   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:53 pm

Yeah, Matsui does have a full no-trade clause (per Cot's Baseball Contracts). But I bet he'd go to the west coast. Thing is, I definitely remember reading when the Bombers signed him that the Japanese revenue from having Godzilla on the team would be quite large, in effect making him a pretty cheap signing. Doesn't that count against trading him at this point?
I think Damon will be very hard to trade, though, so I think I'd part with Matsui.

Now that the deal is done, for me it puts the Gammons propaganda in a whole different light. In retrospect he just looks like a moron. So instead of being mad, I'm just happy. Beaming. Oh, and the fact that Red Sox Nation is in full-blown denial (Hey, he's a good playah nawt a great playah) is icing on the cake.

64 RIYank   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:54 pm

A-Rod with protection.
Heh.
Nah.

[61] Bad day for Manny Ramirez, too.

65 Evil Empire   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:56 pm

I am not a destroyer of baseball players. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, OPS+, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save the Yankees, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the MLB. Thank you very much.

66 Chyll Will   ~  Dec 23, 2008 6:57 pm

[59] I can't hear over Stephen A. Smith's big mouth...

67 RIYank   ~  Dec 23, 2008 7:11 pm

New thread. I'll post the line-up analysis comment I have over there in Alex's apologia...

68 Joseph   ~  Dec 23, 2008 7:20 pm

Man, there's an unruly mob with torches and pitchforks over at Boston.com's Red Sox site. Over 700 comments and counting since Tex signed with the Yanks. The link on the website to comment on the news is..heh..."VENT HERE"..heh. Bitter outrage at Boston management for letting the Yanks snatch Tex away is the most common theme of the comments along with a LOT of Yankee hating. I love it.

69 Yankster   ~  Dec 23, 2008 7:35 pm

Awful lot of happy at the Banter. I'm not in that camp.

Really - $22.5 per year for 8 years? For a first baseman with worse numbers than Giambi when he was signed? I was hoping the Yankees would force the RSox into this sort of messy deal with too much time, too much money, for not enough hitter.

This isn't Manny we're talking about here. Tex age 23-28 has an average annual OPS+ of 134. vs. Manny's 157 for the same ages. Note that Manny's peak OPS+ was at age 28. Great year to sign an 8 year contract. This contract is almost as nuts as A-Rod's but his age 23-28 OPS+ was 148.6 as a SS! (Baseball Ref).

Of course Tex will be great. But this game, even for the Yankees, is about getting the most bang for the least buck - that's what leads to championships as the evil enemy up north has taught us with a branding iron.

70 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 7:35 pm

The thing I like about this signing is it seems like the Yankees were Teixeira's desired destination. The money he got above what the Sox reportedly offered was nominal (I think). So - you know - nyah nyah nyah

71 OldYanksFan   ~  Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

"Teixeira's salary gives the Yankees, who are preparing to move into their $1.3 billion new ballpark in April, the four highest-paid players in Major League Baseball: himself, Sabathia, third baseman Alex Rodriguez (10 years, $275 million) and shortstop Derek Jeter (10 years, $189 million)."

I FEEL SO GUILTY!!!!!!!!!
(I expect it to last until...ummm... ahhhhh... say April)

72 OldYanksFan   ~  Dec 23, 2008 8:21 pm

[53] Can you conference me on that call?

73 Evil Empire   ~  Dec 23, 2008 8:56 pm

[53] [71] Jesus, if Gammons owned a funeral parlor nobody would die!

74 sonyahennystutu   ~  Dec 23, 2008 10:21 pm

WOW. I just spent 30 minutes over at the Boston.com comments...yeow. That was entertaining!

Re: Matsui and the value brought by the Japanese media deals...they were going away post 2009 anyway (or at least dropping dramatically in value at that time). We weren't signing him again under just about any circumstances that I can paint. {Ok fine - .300/380/550, 30-100, but I don't see that happening). So if we trade him it just accelerates that impact by a year. Not that big a deal IMO.

Like I said though, I'll be sad to see him go, this year or next.

ANYTHING from Gammons? At all? Bueller?

75 The Hawk   ~  Dec 23, 2008 11:20 pm

Hm I posted a link to a bit on another blog on this signing and after waiting for it to be moderated, it just disappeared. I didn't know such things were verboten ...

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