Angels Begin Talks With Sabathia

Has anybody factored in the cost of living?

Cost of living in NY is 6.1% more than in LA.

A salary of $138M in CA is the equivalent of $147M in NY.

I say just give Teixeira 10 years, why not? He's only getting better.

The COL argument is way overplayed. You cannot go to sites like the Wall Street Journal and use their salary calculators becasue they are not realistic. In my business I move people around the country all the time and this is just a straw-man argument. First, LA and NYC are comparable in cost of living. Second, Milwaukee is cheaper than NYC, but there is nothing to do there + the endorsement and hi-profile opportunities are greater in NYC. Third, Milwaukee's offer had a lot of money deferred, making the real value of their offer more like $18 million/year. Fourth, it is likely that the Angels would also backload any offer with a ton of deferred money and I think this should be considered until proven otherwise.

wow; CC, Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Escobar?!!!

That being said, they don't need cc or tex to win the west, but for fan support and to i guess be competitive with the east...

Sabathia, Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Weaver.

That rotation would be unbelievable. And maybe if Escobar is ready midseason then they can deal either Saunders or Weaver for offensive help. If they could add some pop at just one more position and get a healthy season from Kendrick, nobody would stand a chance against that rotation.

Vlad isn't the only bat in the Angels lineup. Everyone keeps forgetting they signed Torii Hunter, and if you look at Mike Napoli's homeruns per plate appearance he ranks up there with the best hitters in the game so look for Napoli to get time at DH this season when he isnt catching to get him more at bats.

I hope the Angels stick with seven years, because Tex is a rare player I could imagine the Sox caving on a ten year contract to. Thirty-eight is up there, but he's at the best possible position to hold up until that age.

This has nothing to do with cost of living. CC just doesn't want to play in NY and as long as the players union doesn't make him take the highest contract, he will be playing anywhere else but there. Wont it be refreshing to see the yankees and the red sox fail in buying the best free agent for once. if the angels get him, that will be the best rotation in baseball hands down. just don't expect CC to flourish in the playoffs

All this talk about CC not wanting to play on the East Coast is silly. Show me where he said it? Did he say it directly to you? of course not. This is another negotiating ploy to try to get as much money as possible by scaring the East Coast teams and by getting as much interest from the West Coast Teams as possible. There is so much posturing on the players' and teams' sides that you have to take everything with a grain of salt. CC likely wants to know what he would be walkign away from if he takes the Yankees' offer...that is human nature and makes a lot of sense. The Yankees realize this and are keeping options open becasue anything can happen. That is smart for all parties...Angels included.

Holla - if the Yanks don't get CC, which is entirely possible, they will certainly make moves. I would guess their top priority would be to go very hard after Tex and then they would look at the pitchers something like this:

Sheets - if they could get him for a 2-3 year deal with a high AAV that could lessen the risk

Peavy - this would require work, but one guess would be flipping Swisher and an arm (Braves?) for a good prospect and then packaging that prospect with Brackman, Melky and Kennedy (and maybe Miranda) for Peavy. Towers has handled this badly and is not likely to get what he could have if he managed the process better + he and Cahsman have a good working relationship.

Burnett - if he would take 4 years.

Lowe - if he would take 3 years at $15-16 million. The last time he pitched in the AL east he had a 5+ ERA.

Just a guess, but it seems to make sense.

The Yankees better hope the Angels offer isn't close to Johans because he'll take it to pitch on the west coast.

Burtis - it's the same thing. How do you know he wants to play close to his home? It's all spin, all the time, form all sides. CC is an adult and he has played in the major leagues for enough years to know that you are on the road for 1/2 of the 6 month season anyway. The "close to home" angle is posturing, too. This is not like his mom is going to come see him play at the local park. This is a business. Close to home is a factor, but not THE factor the these guys. Money, endorsements, playoff chances and teammates are all much bigger considerations.

FWIW, CC also has "friends" who have said he has always been intrigued by playing for the Yankees...so what? he is going to make his decision based upon a mix of all these factors, but don't think for an instant that $ is not a big deal.

Preferring and ruling something out are two different animals. I did not say it was THE factor, again parsing. It can be and possibly is A factor. I know about as much about him wanting to play close to home as you do about it not being a deal breaking decision, none.

If you're going to make money, endorsements, playoff chances, and teammates the primary influencing factors than the Angels and Yankees, being in the number one and two sports markets, are going to be exceptionally close. All these being close to equal could make "playing closer to home" a rather important aspect in a decision making process.

Oh, and I think CC is smart to do it this way. Have an idea, make your decision and move forward.

haha i dont think the cost of living really matters when you have 200 million dollars to your name

I agree midnight5. The cost of living has no impact on the Type A free agents in baseball. In any sport for that matter.

I like the fact that the Angels are in on CC. Drive that price sky high. If the Halos can sign both Tex and CC, even better!

I believe the Halos are serious about CC. You can never have enough starting pitching and they realize this. If they do land CC then the obvious question is do they have enough offense to support (what would be a monster staff). I feel they will then bolster the offense via trades. They still have a great farm system and should be able to make a deal or two and get some much needed bats.