Yanks get Mark Teixeira

[JayC]

He could be referring to the fact that the Yankees already had the two highest-paid position players in the market...or that the Yankees just commited a quarter-billion to two free agents..

And... they're still going to be paying out less in salaries than last season, and they have a huge investment in a new stadium that they have to fill. Common sense and logic -- and the basics of running a business -- would dictate doing whatever you can do to maximize profitability. Which is really what Major League Baseball is about.

And yeah, that can be sad to face, I know. But the reality is that the Yankees are being nothing but rational, sensible, and logical in this off-season.

[HoustonGM]

Rodriguez - best player in the game today. Teixeira - probably the best at his position today.

Oh man, how that Pujols guy is forgotten .

[StreetMedic]

Yep, the Red Sox exhibited all of those characteristics in trying to sign Teixeira to a lowball $170 million deal. Then the Yankees went all irrational and threw common sense and logic out the window in offering him $180 million.

Sox didn't respond with $190M, did they? No, they didn't, but they probably could have.

But I'll bet your dimes to my dollars, if they did, the Yankees would have come back at $200M. And so on. And so on.

Face it, the Yankees' front office is in panic mode because they've thrown stupid money all over the place in recent years (and would argue the Sox have done the exact same thing), except they've got bupkus to show for it.

They've got four of the highest-paid players in the MLB already, are on the hook for nearly half a billion dollars in free-agent signings, this year alone, and they're probably not done gobbling up players yet. Even given all that, it's still anyone's guess whether they'll be able to take down the Sox, or the Rays, or anyone else, for that matter. Their ridiculous CC contract shows just how desperate they are.

But the problem with their situation is simply this: they'd better win something next year.

If they do... "Well, yeah, no sh-t they won. Duh."

If they don't... "Can you believe the freakin' Yankees couldn't win anything this season, either? OMG! LMFAO!"

Good luck with that. No pressure, or anything.

[actionjackson]

Oh man, how that Pujols guy is forgotten .

Oops, got me Houston.

[Moot]

Yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria yes mark teixeria

[JayC]

But the problem with their situation is simply this: they'd better win something next year.

If they do... "Well, yeah, no sh-t they won. Duh."

If they don't... "Can you believe the freakin' Yankees couldn't win anything this season, either? OMG! LMFAO!"

Good luck with that. No pressure, or anything.

Nope. Doesn't matter if the win the World Series next year. Oh sure, if they miss the playoffs there'll be a lot of noise, because the playoffs mean millions of dollars.

But what matters most is that they bring people into the new stadium and sell lots of cable packages. That's what these signings have to do, and they will. The signed a bunch of players who people will want to see play, and whether it means a championship or not it almost certainly will mean a competitive team and active fan interest.

Those new seats are going to be expensive. It'll take big names to fill them.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Nope. Doesn't matter if the win the World Series next year. Oh sure, if they miss the playoffs there'll be a lot of noise, because the playoffs mean millions of dollars.

But what matters most is that they bring people into the new stadium and sell lots of cable packages. That's what these signings have to do, and they will. The signed a bunch of players who people will want to see play, and whether it means a championship or not it almost certainly will mean a competitive team and active fan interest.

Those new seats are going to be expensive. It'll take big names to fill them.

From purely a business standpoint, sure, but this isn't from purely a business standpoint. They have put a ton of expectations on themselves. The average fan in New York is going to see that they signed three of the top ten names on the free agent, on top of what they already have, and EXPECT a championship.

[Jeffy25]

I am not sure CC, Burnett and Tex's playoff numbers. but if I remember correctly the playoff season is a completely different year then the reg season. They are just signing more A-Rods. guys who put up great reg season numbers. minus the defense. pay them half a billion and I don't believe, correct me if i'm wrong, but none of them have much playoff success to show off. Isn't this the same reason the cubs suck each year in the playoffs? cause they expect guys like dempster and zambrano to win big games for them when these guys are only aces when the game doesn't really matter.

[actionjackson]

Those new seats are going to be expensive.

At a time when the world is allegedly heading into the biggest recession since the 1930's. The seats are already paid for this year. Who will pay for them in year 2 after 2009 which allegedly isn't looking so good economically? I know they're awash in money and that the TV revenue is pretty much guaranteed, but bums in the expensive seats paying outrageous prices for concessions and suits in luxury suites drive the ticket/concession side of their revenue streams. While a lot of teams are holding the line on ticket prices, the Yankees have significantly increased theirs. Let's see how thrilled everyone is with these massive contracts after the effect of the downturn has been fully felt.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I am not sure CC, Burnett and Tex's playoff numbers. but if I remember correctly the playoff season is a completely different year then the reg season. They are just signing more A-Rods. guys who put up great reg season numbers. minus the defense. pay them half a billion and I don't believe, correct me if i'm wrong, but none of them have much playoff success to show off. Isn't this the same reason the cubs suck each year in the playoffs? cause they expect guys like dempster and zambrano to win big games for them when these guys are only aces when the game doesn't really matter.

C.C. was a beast at the end of the season last season for the Brewers. It wasn't the post-season, per se, but he pitched some games almost as big as his waistline and won all of them. Tex' did pretty well in the post-season with the Angels, if I'm not mistaken, but otherwise has no post-season experience. Burnett I'm not sure of.

[200tang]

I am not sure CC, Burnett and Tex's playoff numbers. but if I remember correctly the playoff season is a completely different year then the reg season. They are just signing more A-Rods. guys who put up great reg season numbers. minus the defense. pay them half a billion and I don't believe, correct me if i'm wrong, but none of them have much playoff success to show off. Isn't this the same reason the cubs suck each year in the playoffs? cause they expect guys like dempster and zambrano to win big games for them when these guys are only aces when the game doesn't really matter.

I'm not sure what to make of this comment, are you suggesting there are people out their who they would be better off signing than Teix and A-Rod? Because I would take both of those guys any day over someone who has a great postseason record in 75 ABs.

[HoustonGM]

I am not sure CC, Burnett and Tex's playoff numbers. but if I remember correctly the playoff season is a completely different year then the reg season. They are just signing more A-Rods. guys who put up great reg season numbers. minus the defense. pay them half a billion and I don't believe, correct me if i'm wrong, but none of them have much playoff success to show off. Isn't this the same reason the cubs suck each year in the playoffs? cause they expect guys like dempster and zambrano to win big games for them when these guys are only aces when the game doesn't really matter.

Alex Rodriguez in the postseason: .279/.361/.483 in 147 at bats. Not up to par with his regular season numbers, but A-Rod has had many 147 at bat stretches during the regular season where he's hit much worse than that. Small sample size, as applies to each and every of these players in the postseason.

Burnett has never pitched in the postseason. Sabathia has been terrible (7.92 ERA)...in 25 innings. In April of 2008, Sabathia had a 7.88 ERA in 32 innings. Small sample size.

Mark Teixeira only played in the postseason this past year, and he hit .467/.550/.467 in 15 at bats.

Ryan Dempster has pitched in 2 postseason games, only 1 start, and judging anybody by that little sample size is even more wacky than judging any player by his postseason performance at all.

Zambrano has a 4.34 ERA in 29 innings. Again, small sample size, but that's hardly terrible.


At any rate, any GM that takes postseason performance into his evaluation of players should immediately be fired. The overwhelming majority of players don't have enough of a sample size for it to be meaningful. The only players with large sample sizes in the playoffs are those that spent at least a decade playing on a team that went to the playoffs every year (Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, John Smoltz, and the like). Even then, it's much better to judge a player based on his overall performance record, and not his playoff performance record.

[actionjackson]

Playoffs: Small Sample Size, therefore data unreliable.

[lilbman07]

woooooooooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[metsguy234]

But if a guy goes like 0-for-30 in the playoffs, small sample size or not, I think you can say that he is bad in the playoffs.