Put On Your Tin Foil Hat, PR Only Matters If….

Permit me to put on my tin foil hat for a minute. Nothing says conspiracy theorist, like tin foil on your head.

Are the New York Yankees brass just like you and me, only richer? Do they make decisions based on the airwave mouth pieces that fill the New York A.M. dial?

I know what you’re thinking, that’s impossible. Is it really? From what I can tell Hank, Hal, Brian and the rest of the crew up in the Bronx are playing real life fantasy baseball and listening to way too much sports talk radio. (Ok, I think what they are doing is way smarter than that, but the fans aren’t looking hard enough.)

My first assertion isn’t completely out of the question. Brian Cashman is clearly getting his scouting report from our friends a CBSSports.com Eric Mack or Scott White.

Here we have a guy that dropped serious cheddar to sign Fantasy baseballs number four first basemen, and number three and twelve start pitchers. (According to cbssports.com) These are additions to a line up that already boasted fantasy baseballs number three closer, number three third basemen, number four ranked short stop and number seven ranked second basemen.

Unfortunately for Yankee fans in fantasyland there are very few points for relief pitchers that don’t close, so Cashman didn’t bother to worry about his bullpen again this off-season.

Also like most fantasy teams the Yankees are a little thin on the bench. After pressing their top utility man outfielder, first basemen and relief pitcher extraordinaire Nick Swisher into action the Yankees are left with a bench that features Berroa, Gardner and Molina.

Now Yankees fan can say what they want about Cashman’s attempt to recreate a fantasy team in pin stripes. So far it looks like his attempts to do all of his scouting at the All-star have failed to pay dividends and the Yankees are a mere one game over five hundred after twenty one games.

Who could’ve predicted that?

Now that alone wasn’t enough to convince me that the chaos that was the Yankees front office wasn’t just a collection of stiffs with a penchant for my life but with more bread to spread around.

Then this happened…Yankees announce new ticketing plan. (This is where the Yankees true brilliance shows through, this move goes against every free market principle in their collective Steinbrenner bodies. Follow along.)

What did my eyes and ears deceive me?

Had the loud mouth callers and sports talk radio hosts in New York City been loud enough and obnoxious enough to cause the 2009 New York Yankees to bend to their will?

The New York Yankees, as in the team owned by George, the team now guided by Hal “Needless to say my dad is a tough act to follow” and Hank “You tell him to hit the damned ball…and hit it when it counts” Steinbrenner. Are now bending to the will of the airwaves.

We are all more than familiar by now with the issue of empty seats in the Legends Suite, and Delta Sky 360 Suite.

In case your not, the Yankees were struggling to sell about 2000 seats per game at the new stadium. So what you might say, well those 2000 seats happen to be the $2500 seats located directly behind home plate and therefore directly in the middle of your TV screen as you watch the game.

Now the Yankees just this week have decided to slash those seats by between 35 and 50 percent depending on the seat. So the $2500 tickets are now going to retail for $1250, and the $1000 seats for $650.

I roast the Yankees for a lot of things; this is not one of them. Lowering tickets to adjust to the market demands makes sense to me. We do it every day in our lives. Baseball tickets being particularly time sensitive, I even give them credit for making this decision in a timely manner.

You know as well as I do, that no matter where you live a ticket price goes something like this. A seat with $50 at the box office, $85 on stub hub, $100 from a scalper 30 minutes before game time, $25 after the first innings and whatever they can get for it by the third. If that isn’t 100% accurate it’s pretty close.

So Hank and Hal good for you. Sitting down and realizing this, realizing you misread the market. Don’t take it personal, it’s not like you’re the only one. Warren Buffet looks confused and he knows more than the rest of us, or so it would seem.

My issue comes with the rebates described in a press release by Hal from the other night.

I know this going to sound weird, but I spent everyday for as long as I can remember hearing that sports is a business. Then for as much as we malign that phrase shouldn’t it teach us to be better consumers?

People will see this as a good PR move by the Yankees. You know why the Yankees need a good PR move? It is because after spending $425 Million dollars on free agents in the off-season they are 11-10 on the 29^th of April.

If the Yankees were 17-4 there wouldn’t be this need to buy a little time so to speak.

I can’t believe we live in world where the New York Yankees, an organization that says you should be allowed to spend your money however you see fit is going to reimburse people for paying the market rate on tickets. Maybe they are still waiting on their Carl Pavano check?

I would contend that if I went out and bought a new Lexus the day it hit the lot, there maybe 19 different cars there loaded with different options and in different colors. On that day the cost on that car is $90,000.00. A year later I return to the same car lot, there are two left, my options are between a green and a blue Lexus. My options are chosen for me. That being said for giving up the options, I’ll probably pay $70,000.00.

Why do I use this example? I do it because the free market says that 85% of Yankee stadium sold at the market price. The remaining 15% of people had to take the seats that were left. On the other hand the Yankees had discovered that they must take action to sell the remaining tickets.

So one of two things is going on here, and I am not buying the Yankees have become like a hooker with a heart of gold.

I think the truth lies in the fact that playing fantasy baseball has finally caught up with the Yankees brass and this ticket rebate is like a prematurely balding man buying a Cherry Red Porsche, it takes the attention off the real problem. All it does is serve to distract from the fact that Teixeira is batting .206 and Burnett and Sabathia in nine starts have surrender 32 runs and combined for a 3 – 2 record.

Los Angeles Angels Preview

Key Additions:
Bobby Abreu (OF), Brian Fuentes (CL)

Key Subtractions:
Mark Teixeira (1B), Garrett Anderson (OF), Francisco Rodriguez (CL), Jon Garland (SP)

A look at the lineup:
An Angels line up that is full of power with a little speed sprinkled in. The Angels will look for another big year from Chone Figgins in respect to setting the table for the likes of Vladdy, Hunter, Abreu and Napoli.

This squad should fit Scioscia well, as he likes to get out and run and be aggressive on the base paths. He should be able to use the speed of Figgins, Aybar, Kendrick, and get the most out of heads up base runners like Abreu and Rivera.

Catcher: Mike Napoli is now entering his fourth season with the big club. He’s shown a ton of promise. But never amassed more than 268 at bats in a season, even with those numbers limited by injury, in 252 career game and 714 career at bats, Napoli has crushed 46 home runs.

Of his 177 career hits, 81 have been for extra bases. Last year, Napoli batted .273 which was 25 points higher than his career average. He was fourth among Major League catcher in home runs, first in slugging percentage and fifth in on base percentage among catchers with more that 200 plate appearance in 2008.

Defensively, he is a low spot on an otherwise solid defensive Angel’s squad. Last year Napoli managed to post only 3 errors in 493 total chances, but he gave up 52 stolen bases on 63 attempts for a caught stealing percentage of 17.5 percent.

First Base: Here is one of the biggest question marks of the season.

The Angels aren’t going to make up for the production loss or the gold glove caliber defense that they got from Big Tex last year. The position is a complete mystery to most. It looks like in his fourth year with the Angels, Cuban Kendry Morales is going to have the job to lose coming out of spring training.

Morales has had a few cups of coffee with the big club, and his three previous seasons in Triple A with the Salt Lake Bee’s has show consistent offensive output. Although the power numbers leave something to be desired for a corner infielder, we should see a fairly effective transition to the majors.

In the field the former outfielder seems to be learning and developing everyday with the glove at first base.

Second Base: After three years in Angel red Howie Hendrick might have the fans seeing it, if he takes multiple trips to the DL again. A .306 hitter in his young career, Kendrick has all the tools to be a great table setter for the Halo’s this year.

Especially, in front of what is looking to be a powerful middle of the line up. Although not exceptional range, Kendrick does a solid job defensively, couple that with what projects to a mid to high teens number in stolen bases and many are expecting a break out season from Kendrick.

Shortstop: The other half of the Angels young, injury prone double play combination is Erick Aybar. Again more speed in the Angels line up and we know how Mike Scioscia loves to get out and run. Not as much offensive potential as Hendrick, but much the same story.

Still very young and his development has been stunted by injury. This is also the year that the Angels will take a good hard look in what they have in Brandon Wood. The prospect managed to crush 31 minor league dingers last year, and then added five more in the majors in 150 at bats. Still only 24 Wood will probably be able to steal some at bats if he can improve his plate discipline, he batted .200 with four walks in 150 at bats last season. He also managed 43 strikeouts and only 30 hits.

Third Base: After seven seasons in the majors, and playing more that 140 games in three of the last five, Chone Figgins worked his way from super-sub, to everyday third basemen.  He is again going to be expected to set the table for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

With his blazing speed he averages 50 stolen bases out of 66 attempts per 162 games over his sever years in the big leagues. He also averages 179 hits and 65 walks per 162 for a .356 OBP. That being said, even with all his speed and being in a prime run scoring position in the line up Figgins has only cracked 100 runs scored once in a his career.

That coupled with his decline in runs produced in each of the last four years since his career high of 113 in 2005, you may see Figgins moved out of the top spot in the line up at some point this year. But his glove should keep him solidly in an everyday roll. Last year among third basemen with 100 or more games played in he ranked ninth in range factor with a 2.65 and second in fielding percentage.

Left Field: Although the Angels weren’t overly active in free agency they went out and secured a replacement for the departed Garrett Anderson. In many respects, Abreu is a slight upgrade. Both men hit for almost the exact same average with Abreu at .296 to the .293 posted by Anderson.

Abreu leads Anderson by a moderate to slight margin in every offensive category including, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homeruns, RBI, OBP, Stolen bases, Stolen base percentage, SLG percentage, and total bases. In the field Abreu has played a more coveted defensive position in right field most of his career. But should make the transition to left without a problem, and give the Angels the kind of intimidating arm in the outfield that they lack when Vlad has a day off to DH.

Center Field: The Angels have their big free agent signing from 2007 patrolling Center. At 31 years old last year  did what Torii Hunter does last season. He won a Gold Glove, and struck out more than 100 times.

What the numbers don’t tell you is his Gold Glove was only accompanied by the 10thbest range factor among centerfielders with more than 100 games played and that his replacement in Minnesota led all center fielders in total chances, put outs, range factor and was fourth in assists at his position with nine.

Although, posting a sparkling 1.000 fielding percentage the numbers seem to show that at 32 years old Hunter is going to play out his huge deal on the down side of his career. At the plate Hunter produced his lowest Totals in Homeruns, RBI in a non injury shortened season. Although his average was up from previous years, as was his on-base percentage. But when looking at a guy hitting in a run producing spot the fall in his SLG percentage is disappointing.

Not quite the center fielder he once was, Hunter needs to have a better year and prove this isn’t a trend.

Right Field: After 13 years in the Major was is left to say about The Impaler? You know what you’re getting .310/30/110.

I realize the stat line is a little short as Vlad no longer has the legs or should I say knees to be a 40-40 man. But is as feared as any man at the plate. He’ll probably see about see about 100 to 110 games in the field and another 40-50 in the DH spot if the past two to three years is an accurate predictor.

That being said, he has been slowed in right by chronic knee pain in the last couple of years seeing his range factor fall below 2.0. Although the arm is still there, it is less of weapon as everybody in the major is aware of it and Guerrero simply can’t get to many balls anymore.

He maybe turned into more of a permanent DH if Abreu is slipped to right, or we may see either Juan Rivera, or Gary Matthews Jr. as a viable option in right if either one of them can prove to stay health this year.

Designated Hitter: The DH job looks to belong to Juan Rivera if he can stay on the field. That is a big IF considering Rivera has managed to play in 103 games in the last two years. Now at the age of 30 the Angels are hoping that he can recapture a little of his 2006 magic when he posted 27 doubles, 23 homeruns, batted .310 with an OBP of .362 and slugged .525.

That being said I don’t think we should expect Rivera to top 120 starts at DH with the Angels looking to rest Vladimir Guerrero’s knees, while keeping his bat in the line up. Another option  the Angels may look at is to mix Juan into the outfield rotation as he has played all three outfield spots in his career.

A look at the pitching:

Starters: The pitching again looks to be the strength of this Angels team, with a rotation that features Lackey, Santana (not Johan, the other one that’s pretty good) and Joe Saunders. We will see this group attempt to propel the Angels back to the top of the division.

Some of the performances from a year ago are repeatable; some I wouldn’t have as much faith in. To their credit the starting five combined for 73 wins (first in the MLB last year). Although they are sure to miss Jon Garland’s 14 wins and almost 200 innings pitched this year.

At age 30, John Lackey should be back and as productive as ever. He did miss the first six weeks of 2008 with triceps issues. But after he came back he produced yet another solid year. He went 12-5 with an ERA of 3.75, average seven plus strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.25 to one K to walk ratio.

The concern with Lackey might be revealed by his season split at the all-star game. Even while missing the first month plus of the year he went 6-2 with a sub 3 ERA (2.56) and then turned around and managed a second half record of 6-3 where he ERA ballooned to 4.99, and he gave up 17 of his 26 long balls. Lackey only made 24 starts last year, compared to 2008 when he gave up 18 homeruns in 33 starts, and 2004 he served up 14 in 33 starts.

Lackey is starting to look more and more like a quality pitcher prone to the monster inning. That being said, I believe there is no reason to believe that Lackey won’t stay health enough to make his customary 33 starts, and with a winning percentage of more than .670 in three of the last four year(over .700 twice) there is no reason to believe that Lackey won’t continue to win between 15-20 games like clock work

In 2008, Ervin Santana finally produced the kind of numbers that Angels had been waiting for since he produced a 16 win campaign in 2006. In 2008 Santana managed to bounce back from a dreadful 7-14 2007. Not just right the ship but show that he has finally got command of the electric stuff that could make him a front line starter in the majors.

With a pair of plus plus pitches in his fastball and slider Santana managed a walk to K ratio of 4.55 to one. He also managed almost a strikeout per inning in a year where he produced a yeomen like 219 innings the highest total in his career, and good for ninth in the majors last year.

Santana with confidence in that slider has the ability to repeat his 16 win performance if not exceed it. If he starts trying to get hitters out with his developing change up again, a repeat of 2007 isn’t out of the question.

After bursting on the scene in 2006 with an 11-2 record in 19 starts, Jared Weaver the 6’7 hurler from Northridge, California came back to reality with an 11-10 mark in 2008. He has never logged 200 plus innings in a big league campaign. Now this may read like tough review on a pitcher that many believe to be the future in Anaheim.

But the fact of the matter is, that since he burst onto the scene his K’s per nine (7.74 in 2008 vs 7.27 his career average) hasn’t changed much, nor that his strike out to walk ratio (2.82 in 2008 vs 2.82 his career average).

Manager Mike Scioscia is looking for Weaver to give the Angels more innings in the big leagues, but with a pitches per inning up over 17 last year and 16.7 for his career it doesn’t look like that can happen. We’ve heard about his maturing, but his 2006, 2008 and career numbers in pitcher per game, per inning and per plate appearance show no difference.

I suspect that unless Weaver changes something dramatically and learned to work deeper into games (he averaged fewer than 6 complete innings per start last year) he’ll never fulfill all that promise we saw two seasons ago.

Joe Saunders went 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA. But let’s put him on the list of pitchers where those two numbers don’t tell the entire story. Saunders strikeout numbers are less than stellar at 4.68 per nine, and he offers up a free pass for every 1.94 strikeouts. He held opponents to a batting average of .253 against him, but he is relinquishing and OBP of .308.

Although, people point to the fact that he has the intangible ability to get out of jams. That being said, conventional wisdom says he allows too many balls to be put in play and should suffer for it in 2009.

The fifth spot in the rotation is a battle between veteran Kelvim Escobar and Dustin Moseley. In Moseley the Halo’s have a pitcher that went 2-4 last year with a 6.79 Era in 12 appearances (10 starts) last year. Moseley has had two other chances to stick with the starting rotation, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The other option to fill the last spot is more of a known quantity in Escobar but he won’t be ready until after the all-star break. I wouldn’t be surprised to him usurp the 5th spot in the rotation when he returns.

Bullpen: Jose Arredondo has closer potential stuff and looked to be on his way to securing the job left open by K-Rod’s departure. His ERA was 1.62 and the opponents hit .190 vs Arrendondo in 61 innings. He also averaged almost a strikeout per inning; Scott Shields has been a staple in the Angels pen since 2001.

Over that time he’s always been able to get the big strikeout, but over the last three seasons his walks per nine has gone from 2.5 in 2006 to 3.9 in 2007 to 4.1 last season. It’s also noticeable his innings are down every year since 2004. Darren Oliver had a great season with the Angels last year, 54 appearances, 72 innings, and an ERA of 2.88 and a WHIP of 1.15.

The other big off-season acquisition is Brian Fuentes, brought in from Colorado to replace single season saves record holder Francisco Rodriguez. In the past four years Fuentes has blown three, seven, six, and three per season respectively. In this career Fuentes has 113 saves in 139 attempts.

That compares favorably to K-Rods totals of seven, six, four, and five saves blown in the same time frame. For his career K-Rod has 208 saves in 241 attempts. So in conversion percentages Rodriguez is about 86 percent to Fuentes’ 81percent.   The rest of the pen is a complete unknown. Will Moseley or Escobar end up in the pen? How about Jason Bulger? We expect to see him start the season with the big club. But that’s all I can tell you for sure.

Outlook:
The Angels are a hundred win team from a year ago, and their roster looks a lot the same and that could be the problem this year. They lost their closer, a starting pitcher that won 14 games, an MVP and Gold Glover at first base, and their steady left fielder.

They brought in Bobby Abreu and Brian Fuentes to fill two of those holes admirably. At the end of the day, there was no way to compensate for the departure of Mark Teixeira and couple that with an aging offence and this year we should see significant diminishing returns.

They are as good as anyone at the top two in their rotation spots with a pair of potential all-stars. Unfortunately, the rest of the numbers don’t speak so highly of the rest of the rotation. Although, it is still young and has shown promise.

The bullpen is an area the Angels have been rock solid in the past year, but staples like Scott Shields are starting to show their age. Based on the 162 game averages of the Angels I’d expect them to score about 738 runs (number deprived from the 162 averages of the projected starting line up and using Bill James’s runs created formula), and the rotations fielding independent ERA reads out around 5.98 for 2009.

Prediction:
Those numbers don’t impress nor do the moves to try to cover their losses. I see the Halo’s as the second best team in the AL West and finishing competitive in the Wild Card race at 92-70

Top 10 Free Agents Your Team Doesn’t Have

There is no doubt that this year’s free agent class has been one of the most epic of all time.  There was a ton of big time talent available like CC Sabathia, Mark Texeira, Manny Ramirez, and Adam Dunn. If you are a team in need then you have the opportunity to really turn things around. Just ask the New York Yankees!

Yet, given the amount of talent available the market has developed slower than Andruw Jones’ bat this season. We all have Scott Boras to thank for that. He likes to hoard his players until the last minute while he tries everything to create a circus and a buzz around his players. And unfortunately he represents the majority of the biggest names in baseball.

Another thing that has slowed the market is the economic uncertainty that owners are facing. No one is sure what the impact will be on their respective markets. If you ask Scott Boras baseball is recession proof. Nevertheless teams are treading very carefully, especially those in smaller markets that rely more on ticket sales.

But I need to also mention that we need to not only look at this year’s free agent crop when analyzing the market. We need to consider who will be on the market in the coming years. Fred Claire does a great job of analyzing the free agent market in the coming years. Read it if you have the time but the jist of it is that the market, in terms of the amount of talent that will be available, will be much thinner in the years to come. And that tells us that now is the time to buy, especially considering that contracts are going to be smaller this year because of the amount of talent out there and because of the economic uncertainty.

That being said, here are the top 10 free agents left in this year’s market:

MANNY RAMIREZ, OF/DH

Not much needs to be mentioned here as Manny Ramirez is one of the greatest right handed hitters of all time. He recently hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games for Dodgers and pretty much carried them into the playoffs, while making everyone on the team better around him. Sure he has a checkered past and has proven to be quite juvenile. But it is apparent that all he wants to be respected for his talents and acknowledged. He has a ton of money and I do not believe that is all that motivates him. And Harold Reynolds of ESPN and MLB Network notes that what Manny has done in the past is nowhere close to as criminal as what so many other players have done on and off the field! Manny just attracts attention because of his electric personality and bat.

DEREK LOWE, SP

If you are looking for pitching, and most teams are, then Derek Lowe is your safest option left because if his consistency. He averages more than 15 wins a season, throws a heavy sinker that keeps the ball on the ground, has a stellar record of not being injured, and has proven to be a great big game pitcher. The Mets are the front runners to sign him but I don’t think that the three-year, $36 million offer will get it done unless Lowe is really motivated to pitch in NY this season.

BOBBY ABREU, OF/DH

Abreu is consistent and his cautious approach keeps him healthy. He is in very good company, joining Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols, as having reached at least 100 RBI in the past six seasons. His defense is average, and is better than Manny’s and Dunn’s but that isn’t saying much. He is patient at the plate and uses the whole field. He would set a great example for other young hitters on any team he lands with. He will probably be the best bargain of this year’s free agent class as he is highly underrated.

ADAM DUNN, OF/DH

Adam Dunn is a great power hitting left handed run producer. But he is a below average fielder that has proven to be cranky player when he doesn’t get his way. Dunn does not run well, Manny might be able to beat him to first, and he strikes out more than almost anyone else. However his patience at the plate gives him a good OBP and his all or nothing approach gives you about 40 home runs and 100 RBI each season. Given his lack defensive liability and power stoke he may be well suited for the American League, possibly the Angels, which is why I list him as a possible DH. It has been reported that the Nationals and Jim Bowden may make a run at Dunn but the Dodgers have also listed him as a fall back option if they do not land Manny.

BEN SHEETS, SP

Big Ben is a great pitcher with electric stuff….. when he is healthy that is. He has a better career than A.J. Burnett but also has an injury plagued history that is keeping teams away. He is definitely not getting the respect he deserves which makes him a possible bargain and candidate for a short-term incentive laden contract. If he stays healthy he can be one of the top pitchers in the league. Unfortunately that is too big of an “if” for most teams it seems.

PAT BURRELL, OF/DH

Pat Burrell has all the shortcomings of Dunn. Poor defensive skills, no speed, and strikes out at a dizzying rate. But he is also good for 30+ home runs and 100 RBI a season. His declining defense and lack of speed also make him well suited for move to the American League. I am totally amazed that there are not more teams going after his power bat. Maybe it is because of the fact that he has not been able to put together a complete season, often playing poorly in either the first or second half of each season. He tends to not be consistent and that maybe his main drawback. I still feel that Burrell is in the same group with Sheets and Abreu as one of the more underrated free agents of this year’s market.

MILTON BRADLEY, OF/DH

Bradley is coming off of a stellar season in which he lead the entire AL in both on-base percentage (.436) and OPS (.999). Another plus is that he is a switch hitter that hits for power and average. The reason that I list him so low is that he has bad knees that limit him to probably 130-135 games in the field. It is said that he could still go to the National League and the Nationals are said to have him at the top of their list, as well as the Cubs.

JON GARLAND, SP

Jon Garland is coming off of a weak 2008, which is never good for a free agent, despite a respectable 14 wins which can be counted on from him. He rarely strikes anyone out and is said to be one of those guys that pitches to contact, so he needs a solid defense behind him. His career is not that dissimilar to that of Burnett or Lowe but again his 2008 was not super, with an ERA of 4.90 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.53. Garland would be a much better fit for the NL where there is no DH and has been rumored to be sought after by the Cardinals and their pitching maestro Dave Duncan.

OLIVER PEREZ, SP

Perez is solid lefty, posting 25 wins over the past two seasons with the Mets. He has proven to be pretty durable by pitching over 170 innings in the past two years. He is a strikeout pitcher, averaging 150+ over the past three seasons but is also hittable with an average of 150 hits per season during that same span of time. So he is not spectacular but can be solid. Unfortunately Boras is his agent and is of course asking for way too much, 5 years and $70 million. I doubt that he’ll get that in today’s market. The Mets would like him back but need to first see if they can land Lowe before they will make him an offer.

ORLANDO CABRERA, SS

I am going to round out my list with an infielder, not just to round out the top 10 but because he deserves it. Cabrera is much better, right now, than Renteria. And Renteria surprisingly signed an $18.5 million deal. Cabrera is a masterful fielder, earning this year’s Defensive Player of the year from MLB.com/TWIB and just missed the Gold Glove award in the AL. Along with his glove, Cabrera also brings his bat with him to the ball park. He hit a respectable .281, can score around 100 runs per season, will swipe some bags and makes for a great lead-off man. Unfortunately the market was full of good SS this year so he has lost some value. But some team somewhere will end up with a great lead-off man/SS at a great value.
Honorable mentions: Jason Giambi, Orlando Hudson, Joe Crede, Andy Pettitte, Garret Anderson, Randy Wolf, and Freddy Garcia.

Yankees Spent $423 Million In December

The New York Yankees have gone “all out” this holiday season possibly placing the best players on the free agent market under the tree for the city of New York and all of those Yankees fans around the country.

Spending 423 million bucks on a few gifts is definitely a rarity these days, but the Yankees have all the confidence in the world on their recent holiday investments that include CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.

What could you possibly buy with $400MM?  Apparently, it is possible to buy yourself a house on the moon, or even 400 billion 99 cent cheeseburgers at McDonalds. You could even buy three of the best players in baseball and add them to your roster in hopes of winning a World Series-just like the Yankees have done.

The Yankees have always been infamous for smashing the piggy bank, but with their recent $400MM in transactions the team will actually have saved money even after paying their so-called “luxury tax”.

Losing players like Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Bobby Abreu, and Andy Pettitte all were responsible for freeing up most of the Yankees’ salary cap this offseason and reducing the payroll numbers below 2008 totals. The Yanks have successfully saved a dime in 2009! This is one spending spree we may never forget!

Nationals Had Higher Offer For Teixeira Than Yankees

First of all, RBI Magazine would like to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday and a great New Year as we move closer and closer to 2009. And with that we move to today’s breaking baseball news story….

Christmas Day has brought us a few stories surrounding the recent Yankees acquisition of first-baseman Mark Teixeira. RBI Magazine has learned from multiple news sources including MLBTRs that the Washington Nationals actually had a higher offer for Mark Teixeira and easily could have smoked the Yankees original offer. So why isn’t Teixeira a Nat?

Earlier this week, Teixeira’s agent Scott Boras was quoted stating that Teixeira would choose the team that was most likely to win a championship over the next few years. Obviously, Teixeira’s agent did not lie and even money could not stand in the way of his future decision. How much did Teixeira actually turn down to become a Yankee?

Reports have been circulating that the first-baseman turned down more than $5MM dollars more from the Nats to play in the Bronx. You might be asking “What in the Sam Hill was he thinking?”

The fact of the matter here is that Teixeira WAS thinking! Now he will have the opportunity to play and learn with baseball superstars Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Alex Rodriguez, and possibly develop his skills even more. Also, what seems to be the most important factor to agent Scott Boras and Mark Teixeira, is possibly winning a Championship.

If you were to choose who would win a championship in the next few years, I am sure the Nationals don’t immediatley come to mind. Did Mark Teixeira just pay $5MM to win a championship? Many think so…

Yankees Sign Mark Teixeira

It is official! Mark Teixeira and agent Scott Boras finally made up their mind and successfully negotiated with the New York Yankees, signing a deal worth an estimated $180MM over the span of eight years and a no-trade clause contract.

The Yankees apparently outbid the Red Sox by almost $12MM plus even after the Yanks got nailed for luxury taxes earlier this week. An official announcement has not been yet confirmed by Yankees officials as of 7:40 PM EST tonight (December 23rd, 2008).

The decision comes after rumors began to circulate earlier this week about the Red Sox supposedly dropping all offers with Teixeira, and shutting the door on his chances to play in Boston. Obviously this rumor turned out to be false or negotiations may have just continued.

Agent Scott Boras was quoted saying that the decision was based on which team had the best chances of winning a future championship. Can you blame him?

Teixeira Discussion in the Clubhouse

Red Sox Say No Way To Mark Teixeira

RBI Magazine has learned that the Red Sox made a drastic attempt to sign Mark Teixeira yesterday morning in Texas. Red Sox officials boarded a plane and flew to meet with Teixeira and his agent Scott Boras.

According to MLB.com, during the meeting Red Sox officials examined the other possible deals that Teixeira was previously offered by the other teams still hunting for the switch-hitter’s services.

Red Sox principal owner John Henry decided that these offers could not be matched saying “No Way!” to Scott Boras and Mark Teixeira dropping all potential offers and the idea of Teixeira becoming part of the Red Sox organization.

Other teams said to be interested in the first-baseman are the Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels.

Update 9:22 EST: Teixeira and his agent Scott Boras are seeking $195 million contract. Is he really worth this much? RBI Magazine says NO WAY!

RBI Magazine Forum Discussion

Yankees May Offer Manny $50 Million

Many news sources including the New York Daily News that spoke to a few baseball officials say that the Yankees may be interested in seeking a two year deal worth $50 million with Manny Ramirez. The New York Daily News was also told by this “so-called” baseball official that the Yankees want Manny because they see him as the perfect addition to the lineup behind Alex Rodriguez. Are the Yankees indeed getting closer?

Other MLB sources told RBI Magazine that it is most likely that the Yanks will not exceed a two year deal with Ramirez. RBI Magazine was also told that the Yankees have stopped all trade negotiations with the Brewers involving Mike Cameron. This may be due to the recently spiked interest in Manny.

On Sunday, RBI Magazine learned that the Yankees were said to be willing to give everything they have to acquire Manny Ramirez if they can not get their hands on Mark Teixeria. The Yankees were expected to offer Ramirez roughly $20 million over a span of three years if there chances at the first baseman Teixeria do indeed bust.

The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals have allegedly offered Teixeria an 8-year -$160 million option sometime over the duration of the last two weeks, an amount the Yankees will need to meet or beat. Oh., and we cannot forget about the Dodgers chances but word has it that they may be losing ground.

Yankees Are Chasing After Manny

“Manny” New York Yankee fans would love to see Manny Ramirez play baseball in the Bronx. The unrealistic thought of Manny in a Yankees uniform may not be so unrealistic for long.

According to multiple news sources like the Bleacher Report the Yankees will give everything they have to acquire Manny Ramirez if they can not get their hands on Mark Teixeria. The Yankees are expected to offer Ramirez roughly $20 million over a span of three years if there chances at the first baseman Teixeria do indeed bust.

The Yanks have already restructured their organization as promised, adding CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to the defensive roster and tapping the cap for over $200 million.

The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals have allegedly offered Teixeria an 8-year -$160 million option sometime over the duration of the last two weeks, an amount the Yankees will need to meet or beat.

Chances are in favor that one of these two players will be a valuable entity and acquisition to the Yankees come the 2009 season. Updates to follow….

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