ByThe not-retired Bernie Williams made his Puerto Rican League debut last night. Bernie, DHing, went 1 for 3 with a single and a strike out as he prepares to make his case for the World Baseball Classic. As long as Bernie doesn’t embarrass himself, this should be his last baseball hurrah. Perhaps, after this, the Yanks can have the long-awaited Bernie Williams Day at the new Stadium this year. · (28) ·
ByTicket prices for the Cubs-Yanks exhibition games on April 3rd & 4th will be set a 1923 prices, when the original Stadium opened. Bleacher seats will go for $0.25, and tier will go for $1.10. The best seats will be available for anywhere between $20 and $50. Season ticket holders will be given their seats for free (bastards), and there will be a presale for people with partial plans. I am so there. · (15) ·
ByCourtesy of Sweeny Murti, here is an interesting take on the path the Yanks should follow. The WFAN personality wants the Yanks to swoop in as they did with Johnny Damon and sign Tex to a short-term deal with a high average annual value. He’d then be able to cash in on another payday while still producing, and the Yanks could fill an obvious hole with the proper piece. While I disagree with Murti’s second plan — trading for Aaron Roward is a waste of money and resources — I like this stealth move he proposes. It’s probably just crazy enough to work.
Update by Mike (11:41 a.m.): Looks like we’ll get a Tex announcement today. My guess: BoSox for 8/188.
Update by Ben (11:44 a.m.): Buster Olney ponders the Yanks’ receiving an offer they couldn’t refuse from Boras for Teixeira. I guess we’ll know soon. · (211) ·
Morning Manny mania
By · CommentsWe have some Manny updates we never got around to mentioning yesterday. It seems as though a rather amusing game of “nuh-uh, uh-huh” is developing between some random news site in the Dominican and the Yankee front office.
After Brian Cashman denied Sunday night’s Impacto Deportivo story about an impending deal between Manny and the Yankees, the Dominican-based site reiterated its story yesterday afternoon. The latest report says that Manny is currently in Brazil but will be featured at a press conference once he returns. The story also notes that the negotiations between the two sides are ongoing.
This latest salvo from the Dominican prompted Hal Steinbrenner to deny the rumors as well. “If we are, I don’t know about it,” the younger Steinbrenner told Kat O’Brien yesterday.
At this point, the story has moved from the realm of the odd into the world of the weird. I can’t quite figure why a Dominican sports site would be so vehement in pushing this rumor while two members of the Yankee front office continue to deny it. It is possible that the Yankees are denying it because negotiations are indeed ongoing and a deal hasn’t been reached yet, but in an off-season rife with leaks, no one else has reported this story.
If the Yanks don’t emerge in the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manny land in the Bronx, but I don’t think it’s going to happen “en unos dias” as Impacto Deportivo continues to report. Teixeira’s saga may wrap up by Christmas, but Manny will remain unsigned into 2009. Maybe we’ll all be surprised, but I doubt it. I do wonder though what’s happening down there in the Dominican with Franklin Mirabal and Impacto Deportivo. How strange.
Still waiting on Teixeira
By · CommentsOne of these days we’ll finally get sick of discussing Mark Teixeira. For many of you that time has already come, but for me it hasn’t, so I’m going to link to this Jon Heyman article in which he speaks ambiguously of the first baseman’s situation. Word comes from “baseball people” that Teixeira will sign today or tomorrow. You know what kind of person knows baseball? A baseball person. So clearly this is accurate information. Moving on.
What team will have the privilege of paying Mark Teixeira over $20 million over the next at least eight years? That we don’t know, and that we must know soon, or we will go crazy. Heyman tells us that despite John Henry’s statements last week, Boston will indeed be a factor. The Red Sox “are still viewed as the favorite by most executives on other teams.” I’ve always wondered if the word “most” in statements like this means “majority” or “a bunch of people I’ve spoken to.”
Washington could be launching a last-minute offensive with an new, improved offer. Roch Kubatko, who has a cool name, is hearing eight years and $178 to $184 million, with the possibility of a ninth or even tenth year under discussion. For commentary I’ll quote Mike: “I find it hilarious that the Nats are willing to up their offer for Tex, but wouldn’t pony up the extra $500,000 to sign Aaron Crow.” I do too, Mike. I do too.
Back to Heyman. Now he says that the Yankees met this weekend to consider whether to “make room on their payroll” for Teixeira. Then, in the next paragraph, he said that they only want to spend “slightly more than the $161 million given to [CC] Sabathia.” Thankfully, slightly is yet another ambiguous term, so for all we know slightly could be another $19 million. I guess we’ll find out in the next two days.
Okay, now I’m sick of discussing Mark Teixeira. Glad I got that out of my system.
Bonus section!
Made me laugh: Ed Price and Bryan Hoch, among other beat writers I’m sure, got some quotes from Derek Jeter yesterday afternoon at an event for his Turn 2 Foundation. Apparently, Jeter gave the impression that Manny would fit with the Yanks and that they don’t need him. The funny part is that despite the headlines, there is no quote from Jeter saying that Manny would fit or that they don’t need him.
Here’s Reds Commentator Marty Brennaman getting cranky about on-base percentage. This is priceless:
Caller: People here don’t realize that Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn don’t get paid $12 million to hit .300. They get paid to hit home runs; that’s it.
Marty: No, they get paid to drive in runs, is what they get paid to do.
Caller: And hit home runs.
Marty: No, unh-uh. Home runs are incidental.
Then, what had to be only seconds later:
Adam Dunn’s paid to hit home runs
And then a little bit later:
I’m tired of hearing about how many times he walks. He was paid to hit home runs
Also, listen to this a couple of times and it’ll be stuck in your head:
ByThis year’s damage: $26.9M. That’s up from $23.9M last year, and it’s the most they’ve owed since 2005. It also brings their total luxury tax payout to $148.3M in the six seasons it’s existed. The only other team over the $162M threshold this year are the Tigers, who owe just $1.3M. Checks are due January 31st. · (32) ·
Open Thread: Wang avoids arbitration
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The Yanks and righty Chien-Ming Wang agreed to a one year, $5M deal today, avoiding a second straight arbitration hearing. Last year, as you may recall, the two sides went to arbitration over a $600,000 difference in perceived value, and the arbitrator eventually sided with the Yanks, awarding Wang a $4M salary in 2008. Many felt the Yanks were being stingy with their top pitcher, after all what’s another $600 grand on a team with a $200M payroll? Well, it’s not much, but it sets a precedent for the future and triggers a snowball effect.
If Wang won his case and earned a $4.6M salary in ’08, all of a sudden he’s looking at maybe a $5.8-6.2M salary in 2009, rather than the $5M he signed for. The process then repeats after 2009, and again after 2010. They saved themselves just $600,000 in 2008, but perhaps saved themselves millions in future payroll.
There’s also the overall effect. When Joba Chamberlain, or Phil Hughes, or Chad Billingsley, or Tim Lincecum, or any young right hander reaches arbitration, they’ll probably use Wang as a comparable pitcher because arbitrators love simple stats like wins. Wang getting $600,000 less keeps those salaries down somewhat as well. That benefits everyone.
The Yanks have more money than any team in the game, but that doesn’t mean they should spend their dollars senselessly. They’re still a business, after all. (h/t MLBTR)
Here’s your open thread for the night. Talk Wanger, Packers-Bears, whatever you want. Just be nice.
Oh, and make sure you check out Zell’s run-in with Phil Hughes. Color me jealous.
ByDespite the Yanks’ $240-million pitching binge, FoxSports’ Dayn Perry still seems them as a third-place team. As a few other commentators have noted, the team’s defense isn’t still and the offense is no sure thing. But while Perry may have a point about the Yanks, Nick over at YFSF pinpoints the problems with Perry’s piece. The FoxSports scribe seems to be evaluating the Yankees in a vacuum without questioning how the Rays or Red Sox will perform next year. As Nick writes, “A lot of pundits are taking it for granted that neither team will take a step back,” and that’s just a bad assumption. · (35) ·
ByWhile we all know the big signings of the Yankee off-season, it is somewhat shocking to many see the Yanks pouring hundreds of millions into player contracts during a global recession. Maury Brown, however, sees this as the perfect storm of Yankee spending. In a piece that summarizes the Yankee off-season, he explores how the non-trade for Santana, a bunch of contracts coming off the books and the tax shelter of the new stadium have put the Yankees in the free agent driver’s seat this winter. With Manny and Teixeira still out there, the team might not be done yet either. · (31) ·
That other Brewers’ outfielder
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The Yanks have been hot on Brewers’ centerfielder Mike Cameron this offseason, at least until the deal was deemed “officially dead” last week. With Brett Gardner unproven and Melky Cabrera perpetually underperforming (see, I was nice about it), it’s hard to blame the Yanks for seeking out a short term upgrade until Austin Jackson is ready. With Cammy off the board, perhaps the Yanks should turn their attention to another 2008 Brewers’ outfielder: Gabe Kapler.
Most Yankees’ fans probably remember Kapler from his exploits with the Red Sox, particularly during their 2004 World Series season. He played for the Yomiuri Giants in 2005, then returned for another season in Boston before serving a tour of duty as manager of the Low-A Greenville Drive (BoSox affiliate) in 2007. The itch to play returned, and he spent 2008 as the Brewers’ fourth outfielder/primary right handed pinch hitter.
Boy was that a smart decision. Kapler hit .301-.340-.498, setting career highs with a 117 OPS+ and .362 wOBP. He did most of his damage against southpaws (.354-.379-.622) and was money off the bench, hitting .323-.364-.548 as a pinch hitter. A .757 career OPS guy, Kapler’s also a tough at-bat, averaging 3.94 P/PA since 2003. He doesn’t draw as many walks as that number might lead you to believe however, and he struggles against breaking balls.
Defensively, Kapler’s good in all three outfield spots (he was unreal in center last year, posting a .945 RZR and 33.2 UZR/150) and has a strong arm. Maintaining his career average of 0.8 UZR/150 would be perfectly acceptable for a part time player. He’s also a tremendous person and clubhouse guy, which only continues the under-the-radar theme of bringing in “chemistry guys” this offseason.
Last year Kapler settled for a minor league deal that paid him $800,000 when he made the team, but this year he’ll be looking for a guaranteed roster spot and maybe even a full-time gig. He missed the last two weeks of the season and the NLDS when he tore his lat on a throw to the plate, so that’s something that has to be checked out in any predeal physical. The beauty of signing a guy like this is that you could still play Gardner every day while using Kapler against tough lefties and off the bench late in games. As far as Melky … well I dunno, I hope he enjoys Scranton.
KLaw ranked G-Kap the 35th best free agent in the class (subscription req’d), and when the alternatives are Willy Taveras, Corey Patterson and a not physically able to play everyday Rocco Baldelli, how do you not at least give Kapler a phone call? Quality bench players go a long way.
