Not really. Hal was quoted as saying that the offer would not be there forever. But there currently is no hard deadline. Whats more worrisome to the Yankeees, I believe, is that the offer has actually been on the table for awhile ready. There is some speculation in major league circles that Sabathia would rather take 125 million from a west coast club (Angels, Dodgers, Giants?), than 140 million from the Yankees. He just completed building a brand new million dollar house not far from SF.
Honestly, I think it's more of the same ARod-esque pushing as last year. Basically, "Hey, we offered you a LOT of money, to our own detrement, to lure you here. The least you can do is say 'Yes'." I'd say they're more just leery of getting involved with a bidding war, where they've already put a lot of money on the table as it is. I mean, how high can they really go? This offer is already ridiculous, and far more than CC deserves. I'd say the key is rope him in before the Sox make a serious and competitive offer. The Yankees can outbid any team out west. Boston with CC in the rotation becomes a pretty scary juggernaut. I'd be fine with him going out west, if he'd be more comfortable out there. At least in that case, it was a matter of comfort. I fear him on the Sox, just like I did Santana last year.
Including Mussina. Did you forget about his elbow troubles, and his hamstring, and his knee? And are you saying that Pedro's stints on the DL are signs that the Red Sox shouldn't have gone after him? Really? All pitchers have a risk of injury. Some more than others. Sabathia has shown himself to be very durable, as well as an effective pitcher. That factors into the equation. He doesn't need to start 35 games every year of the contract to be worthwhile. He could miss time and still be worth it (as you contend Moose was, even with his injuries, and off years). Unless you think he'll break down for half the season every single year of the contract (which is a pessimistic outlook, even for you). And for the record, I would like to hear some kind of response to my refutation of your "CC sucks in the AL East and sucked last year" arguments. Will you admit that you're full of shit about that, please?
Of course not really...that's why I threw in the scare quotes. But the Yankees saying that offer will not be there forever means they are anxiously awaiting making moves for other free agents. If CC holds out, and the Yanks have to wait to see what he does all of their other desired guys may accept other offers. Yanks F-ed.
I really don't think CC has any effect on the Yankees pursuing anyone else. They have their Christmas list, and are shopping as they come to each aisle of interest. I really believe they want to nudge him into signing for what they've offered as soon as possible. 1) It's more than he's worth, and 2) They don't want Boston making a competitive offer that he accepts.
I'd like to see C.C. sign with SF. I feel C.C. could really help Zito, alleviate alot of the pressure he has on him.
Somehow it sounds more reasonable when Hal says it. Speaking of which, I'm not buying that whole thing about Hank throwing his support and his vote behind Hal. Not for one second. Hank was enjoying the spotlight too much, and I'll be sad if this means we won't see or hear from him anymore.
Plus, 3) Johnny Damon announced that he wants the Yankees to sign CC now. And then Burnett. Oh, and then Derek Lowe. All Johnny needs is his own blog and his transition into Curt Schillingness will be complete.
Wow, you really like to twist in the wind. I said nobody other than Mussina has lived up to a 6 year deal and I stand by that. So much so that they added two more on the end when it was up. You have yet to say anything to make me feel differently.
Do you even know what this phrase means? Seriously, I'm asking. Because this makes no sense in the current context. And I'm saying that not even Mussina has lived up to his contract by your very own measures. Moose was injured on several occasions during his stint with the Yanks. He missed 6-7 starts in 2004 with elbow inflammation, and it happened again in 2005. 2004 and 2005 were hardly stellar years for him, either... he was a league average pitcher. I don't see how your support for Moose's 6-year contract helps your argument against Sabathia (who would be four years younger than Moose was when he signed his six-year deal). If you liked the Mussina deal, there is no reason why you shouldn't like the Sabathia deal, as well. Now, I don't have a problem with Moose's original contract, despite not getting a $20 million performance on the back end of the deal. I also don't have a problem with offering a six-year deal to Sabathia.
So your rotation consists of what? Wang, Joba, Pettitte, then who? You've already made it clear you don't like Hughes or Kennedy, and you don't think either will be a good pitcher. Add in the possibility that Pettitte's performance late last year could be a sign that he's done, and you have two pitchers who are truly capable starters. One of which you've expressed should be in the pen and you don't think he can handle the load of a full season starting. Your arguments have more holes than a block of Swiss.
agreed with alio 400%....we cannot go into this season with wang, joba, pettitte as the first 3....ill pass on Andy alltogether....FTR!!!!!
Holy shit...Juan Guzman? Juan...Guzman? In the same sentence as Moose? Moose will end up as a Blyleven who'll constantly get support, but just not enough. It won't be fair, cause he's a better pitcher than most guys. It's amazing how much Yankee fans belittle the guy...in '01 against the A's...the one with the Jeter fairy flip...anyone remember that Moose that held down the A's sick '01 offense for 7 shutout innings? It's that negative aura of his maybe. He just didn't have "it."
I guess I'll admit that. Just every time I see him against the Yankees he looks average at best. If it wasn't for Wang we would have probably advanced in 2007. Certainy Sabathia looked like crap and continued to in the next round as well. An era of ovet 10 in the playoffs just doesn't excite me like it must you. In the even weaker NL this year his era in the post season was over 12. You can have him. Personally I hope he signs with anybody but the yankees and that even includes Boston. Now you can admit how full of shit you are about Mussina. In 8 years he never had less than 27 starts and after his original contract the Yankees signed him for two more years and would sing him again today if he wasn't retiring. Martinez on the other hand had one year with 18 starts and another with 23. When his contract was up Boston had no intention of bringing him back. That says nothing about whether or not he had some great years with them. It says he didn't stay healthy for long periods during his contract and neither has anybody else but Mussina. Certainlt butterball won't. He will be luck to last three years before his first extended stint on the DL.
But would they be signing him for $20 million/year? Of course not. His last contract was a two-year deal for $12 million/year. The next contract would likely be similar. Your complaint is that no one has ever lived up to a six-year deal. Are you really basing this solely on number of starts? Hey, remember Ed Whitson? He never made less than 30 starts in a season during his big, five-year contract and beyond. What was the problem with that, though? Oh yeah, he sucked. First of all, you are incorrect about Pedro. During his contract with the Red Sox, he had one year with 18 starts. His 23 start season was with the Mets in 2006, two years after he left Boston. Secondly, you do realize that durability is not the only determining factor for whether it is worth signing a player, right? I just want you to tell me that Pedro Martinez's contract with the Red sox was not worth it. That they should have passed on him. Please. I want to hear you say that explicitly. Pedro Martinez was worth every penny of that deal. Or, let me ask you this: Who would you have rather had on your staff for six years, Pedro from 1999-2004 or Mussina from 2001-2006? And finally, even if you are judging a player by health and health alone, I don't see how you can't like Sabathia's track record here. The dude is a workhorse. But OMG HE'S FAT! Yes. He is. Oh well. So is/was Curt Schilling. He did alright up until last year. Look, you have some kind of weird bias against Sabathia. That's fine. Maybe you just don't like fat people. That's fine, too. But there is really no basis for thinking that he will not perform well for the Yankees. Unless of course, you want to use his freakishly small sample size from the playoffs (which totals five whole games, three of them bad, one okay, and one good, for an ERA of 7.92). Hey, Wang pitched in four postseason games, and was lit up in three of them. Last year, his postseason ERA was 19.06! His career postseason ERA is 7.48. I can only assume that you think the Yanks would be smart to get rid of that bum, huh?
Really time for the Yankees to get as far away from Sabathia as they can. Obviously nobody else wants him other than maybe the Brewers who offered him 100 mil and he obviously doesn't want to play in NY. Get out while you can and before you regret it.
