Brewers Expect A Counteroffer From Sabathia

In other words, CC said:

"Thanks but no thanks. I want a fat contract that would make me one of the most overpaid pitchers! Pinstripes here I come!"

Yeah. CC is going to get a contract where he is vastly overpaid.

CC is doing the Brewers a favor by pretending to negotiate with them, they can now go to their fans and say they tried. Plus the Brewers offer sets the bar pretty high for other teams, so they're doing him a favor in turn. CC won't be a Brewer next year, neither side really wants that I would expect. CC would probably rather be on the west coast or signing a contract for $140 million. The Brewers don't want to spend so much money on one player, no matter how special the fans think he is.

Yeah they'll get picks for CC.

Yeah cub fans were just hanging on the hope that Mark Cuban would buy them and be another Steinbrenner. Now its just a jealous lash out on Yankee fans because the cubs are tapped out basically.

Hate to say it but the yanks are up shits creek without a paddle if they dont sign CC, haters are gonna have a field day when they blow everyone else outta the water maybe like 6/135

How are the cubs tapped out? You act like whoever buys teh team is some poor guy who isnt going to spend money. Chicago is still a huge market and making it to the playoffs is big revenue, so whoever the owner is will still put money into the team. Theyre raising payroll again this year, but yeah, were tapped out.

I thought the Brewers' offer was 4/100, not 5/100. 4/100 would have to garner some consideration because of how it would allow Sabathia to seek another big contract later on.

How sweet would it be if out of nowhere there is a new post, titled.... "CC back with Crew".

The annual money for CC: 18 million.

The total money for CC: 108 million.

The look on the faces of Yankee fans everywhere upon reading this news: Priceless.

Haha.

I agree with you completely but i'm sure there's also pressure from the players union to take the most money to "set a precedent".

nrmax88,

Agreed. At some point it must be all like Monopoly money.

Besides, aren't the taxes and the cost of living higher in NY than Wisconsin?

You'd think a player might consider that reality over the length of a contract, no matter what his agent tells him.

"I would be pissed if CC signs with the Crew. I wouldnt be shocked though, he likes it there."

That makes 1 of us. C.C is a #1 type pitcher, clearly. However I really wouldn't weep seeing how many innings his arm has gone through these last couple of years. I personally would love to sign 1 of the lower tier FA Pitchers(Sheets/Burnett) & use the remaining money we have on Teix to solidify the middle of the lineup.

I would be happy with a 1-4 of
Wang
Burnett or Sheets
Joba
Pettitte

And a lineup of
#1-Damon(Shares LF/DH w/Matsui)
#2-Jeter
#3-Teixeira
#4-Rodriguez
#5-Nady
#6-Cano
#7-Matsui
#8-Posada
#9-Gardner/Cabrera

So it really might be a blessing in disguise if the Yankees don't ever get a chance to sign C.C

gleb ... if Posada is as ok as he says he will be, he'll be hitting behind Rodriguez and Cano will be 8th in the order until he returns to form

Personally, I think you put Cano 3rd and he'll hit everything he sees.

Personally If I had a choice I'd
1)package Kennedy, Cabrera, Horne and a lower tier Player to attempt to get Matt Holliday and throw him in left. (What do you guys think, would Colorado want more than this for a player they have no chance of resigning?)
2)Attempt to trade Matsui & Damon for anything young, although both are coming off the books at end of the season anyway.(If I had my choice I'd go with Matsui)
3)If I had a choice of C.C or Teixeira, I go with the Gold glove switch hitting 1B who is a lock for 30+HR, 120RBI and great OBP for the next 5+ years.
3)Sign Manny Ramirez to be the permanent DH(3 years 82 Mil should do it IMO &
4)stick with one of the Lower tier FA Pitchers(I'd prefer Sheets, but Burnett is no slouch)
Can you Imagine what a lineup of
Gardner(A-Jax next year)
Jeter
Teixeira
A.Rodriguez
M.Ramirez
Holliday
Nady
Posada
Cano

Wang
Sheets/Burnett
Joba
Petitte
Hughes/Aceves/?

I know realistically this scenario will never happen but I really think
1)Holliday can be traded for pretty with fair certainty. Colorado has taken a liking to Kennedy for some odd reason.
2)stick Manny in the only position where he can't be a liability. One of the greatest hitters of our generation.
3)I know people will say get C.C, but I want Teixeira personally.

Lots of Money being throw around here but this would field the most competitive team IMO.
155/7 for Teixeira (22.1)
82/3 for Manny(27.3)
62/4 for Burnett/Sheets(15.5)
Not sure what kind of deal Holliday would want.
Thats 64.9 Mil before adding in what Holliday would want to extend.
Unlikely..but it would make me omgasm.

Yank fans might be disappointed if we don't get CC, but trust me, its not the end of the world. In fact, Id rather have Burnett.

Casanova...your last sentence speaks volumes about Hughes. he NEVER should have been called up in the first place. He was rished out of necessity and paid the price for it.

career 1.29 whip, 117 era+ 3.78 ERA

beckett by comparison is a career 1.22 whip with a 116 era+ and a 3.79.

And for the record I dont consider him an "ace" per se because for me an ace is a strikeout pitcher like joba becks kazmir etc. I do however think he qualifies as a very good #1 pitcher though.

so even though he has the same career numbers as everyones faborite "ace" he is only a decent #1?? That makes absolutely no sense. Thats the popular thing to say because he doesnt strike alot of people out hes not ace-worthy. Strikeouts may be more flashy but they only count as 1 out, same thing as a groundball.

You said strikeouts didn't make him an "ace", not me.
Brandon Webb is just as effective if not more than most K pitchers because of his ability to get the DP and get out of any inning.

"Strikeouts may be more flashy but they only count as 1 out, same thing as a groundball."

Even a super fire DP can be booted. K's are clearly better than Groundballs.

"I dunno if you're joking or not but theoretically a Gb pitcher could get through an inning in 3 pitches whereas a k-artist would need 9.

Are you attempting to say pitchers with high strikeout rates can't get out of an inning in the same or what? When you put the ball in play there's a higher chance for a ****up, that simple.

Hey, waht do I know, I'ma Cubs fan and we haven't won anything in over a century, but what I think the Yankees need to do is to get some players with heart, character, drive and passion. Get back to the days of Paul O'Neil and guys like that. Teixeira, as good as he is, is like A-Rod lite. Great stats, but aloof and a me-first attitude. You need winners.

nrmax88 - "It is one thing to go to the highest bidder if you are choosing between 12 million and 18 million. But when you are choosing between 125 million and 145 million, I will go where I am comfortable. I think I could live a fairly comfortable lifestyle with 100 million bucks."
your forgetting how influential the players union is, they would pressure cc to take the highest salary.

shawnpe, that's pretty good advice. Not to mention that the money they save could then be spent on Fielder, Hardy etc... Someone like Lowe would be a good fit because he'd take CC's innings, and Gallardo should be able to match Sheets innings. Getting Weeks out of the infield would help, though Hudson was having a down year with the glove he's still better than Weeks. Maybe start transitioning Weeks to CF, then when Cameron leaves he could be the replacement? I agree with you that the Brewers don't need to start changing philosophy now, the Twins and A's haven't and they've managed to stay somewhat successful. There will be down years for small market teams but as long as they don't cripple themselves with a huge contract they should be able to compete for years to come.

Adding to above post. I remember when Griffey Jr. came from the M's to the Reds. It got out that the players union and some players were not happy Griff took a big hometown discount. I would suspect the same if CC did it for a West Coast team. The difference is CC has made no indication he will take a discount from anyone.

The reported offer to CC is wrong in the mainstream media. CC was offered $100m over 4 years with a 5th year mutual option that became a player option at certain innings pitched levels. The Brewers are much more likely to keep CC than people expect. The Cameron signing is an indication they are in it.

Also as a Brewers fan, as much as I loved having CC, and would love to have him back if the price was right, the Brewers will be much better off in the long run not signing him, unless they are willing to really up the payroll in coming years. To invest so much of your overall budget in one player is crazy. I wouldn't go much higher than what they already offered him.
If they lose him...then we get 4 quality picks in the first couple rounds, which will help restock the farm system...I don't mind that at all. Plus it opens up a heck of a lot of cash to make other improvements to the ballclub. The Brewers need to retool the bullpen a bit, and possibly think about adding a contact/ high OBP player to the infield (preferrably a left-hnded hitter too). With Matt Gamel and Escobar waiting in the wings I think the Brewers should think about moving Hardy to 3rd, brining up Escobar to play short, and possibly even promoting Gamel.
The rotation, if both Sheets and CC are gone...would then be: Gallardo, Parra, Suppan, Bush, McClung...however, with the extra money the Brewers could go after someone like Lowe or even Burnett... Melvin will definitely make a signing of some sort. That rotation is solid. In my opinion, Gallardo will be better than Sheets, and if we can get another ace type, the rotation will still be well-stocked.
The other option could be to trade Fielder for some quality young pitching...and move Hart to 1st and promote Gamel to play RF?? just a thought...it should be interesting...we'll know more in a few days

We need to get rid of Weeks somehow, putting him in center doesn't resolve his inability to hit the outside slider. I'm content with Gwynn, Hart and Braun for the outfield. I'd like to see Escobar at short and move Hardy to second or third and focus some money on the nice FA pitchers out there, possibly Hoffman as the closer now that Torres is out.