C.C. Sabathia Rumors: Thursday

wouldn't the giants be better served making Furcal and a power bat their priority instead of talking about CC.

I disagree 04forever, Why do you think the yankme's offered way way more than anyone..............cause he doesnt want to play in NY........

Gammons said that on the Michael Kay show last night.

Keep in mind that every team is afraid of the Yankees this offseason. Most are afraid of the impact of the recession, however, the Yankees will be increasing revenues with the new ballpark. The Yankees can dictate the market this year. Other GMs are hoping they can make the Yanks' brass panic and overspend on CC or AJ to keep them out of the Texeira, Manny, etc. sweepstakes.

yankme's? what are you? ten?

as an Indians fan, i really grew to like CC, a lot. As a yankee-hater, i would be thoroughly upset if he pitched for them. He'll have a better chance at winning with the Angles or Dodgers. The yankees never seem to have any sort of direction to their organizational plan other than spend, spend, spend, and that certainly hasnt gotten them what they so desire in, well, a period too long for the yankees. Adding CC will help them out in the short run, but not in the long run.

Kiid,

How do you know the Giants don't have the $$?

After '09 the only contracts of any significance are:

Zito $18 mil
Rowand $12 mill
Cain $4 mill
Affeldt $4 mill
Lowry $6 mill (Team option which will not be picked up)

They can go up to a $90 mill payroll. Where do they not have $$ for C.C.

"I disagree 04forever, Why do you think the yankme's offered way way more than anyone..............cause he doesnt want to play in NY........"

nevermind the fact that what CC was offered was market value.

sjd- if the yankees sign Sabathia, it is with no direction? but if another team has the privilege, it is a savvy business decision? how does that make sense?

Why Phils? Because of our ballpark. That's why. The Giants will not be able to sign big time free agent bats because of this park. They know that it will hurt their numbers, especially lefties. The smartest thing the Giants could do is sign big time free agent pitchers, and use the surplus in pitching to trade for big time hitters. It is the only way the Giants are going to build a winner in this ballpark. Pretty much common sense.

i dont think anyone actually said "thanksgiving" but people just assumed CC's priority would be eating turkey next week. seriously how is he supposed to make decisions like this with his favorite holiday right around the corner??

Gammons said "After Thanksgiving" on the Michael Kay show last night.

The Giants will be able to contend if they have Sabathia. Sabathia, Lincecum, Cain can be a dominant front three. The NL West is pretty weak, especially if the Dodgers don't sign Manny - lots of holes in the rotation.

I dont know why people are getting so anxious on CC, the first big free agent signing last year was Tori Hunter on Nov. 22nd and everyone thought that was kind of a quick signing. I would give it another couple of weeks until this can be considered "dragged on".

Brain: See you those holes in the LA rotation and raises hole in infield defense and batting order. CC would be good story ( local man comes home) but really how do you expect those arms to over come both sets of deficiencies? I certainly don’t and I am a Giants fan.

Didn't A-Rod care about what someone from Omaha said last year? Some guy named Warren Buffet.

I think the yankees signing CC will be great for everyone who is anti-yankee. Unless its a 3 or 4 year deal, he is going to get hurt. While CC is a great pitcher, his body type isnt the best. and if the yankees get CC they most likely will not press as hard to get teixeria.

"I think the yankees signing CC will be great for everyone who is anti-yankee. Unless its a 3 or 4 year deal, he is going to get hurt."

So you're guaranteeing an injury in 2013?

no, im not guaranteeing anything. Im just saying, its hard in this day and age to give a pitcher a 6 year contract and get 6 full years from him.

i mean look at zito, he has been TERRIBLE.

there is alot more risk, thats all im saying.

Its easy to deal with a 4 year contract if that pitcher goes down than it is to deal with a 6 or 7 year contract if the pitcher goes down.

Peter Gammons made the Thanksgiving statement on ESPN radio in NY yesterday afternoon while talking with Michael Kay.

"Zito $18 mil
Rowand $12 mill
Cain $4 mill
Affeldt $4 mill
Lowry $6 mill (Team option which will not be picked up)

They can go up to a $90 mill payroll. Where do they not have $$ for C.C."

If the Giants were to sign CC, they'd have to expand payroll. The $44m of commited money you laid out coupled with $22m for CC would leave the team with $34m to fill out 19 roster spots. You can't tell me you can fill out 19 roster spots with $34m and be a contender. Maybe if you promoted half of your AAA team and signed bottom of the barrel free agents to round out the roster."

Actually they already have 3 young kids from AAA who proved ready to start in Fred Lewis / Emmanuel Burriss / Pablo Sandoval. They also have Buster Posey on the fast track for '10....

Trade Cain and Tim alderson for a couple bats like Fielder/Hardy and YES we are easily contenders for the NL West. Not a WS team yet, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

Not Joe, shouldn't Cairo be ahead of Morgan?

And the Marlins didn't have CC, Cain, and Lincecum in 3 of their rotation spots.

peter gammons never wrote it thats why you cant find it MLBTR.COM
he said it on the michael kay show on 1050 espn radio
he also stated that he thinks the dodgers will be big players in the sabathia bidding
he is also an idiot.....i never listen to anything gammons says he is constantly wrong
listen to buster onley and tim kirkjun they know their stuff

Yeah but it doesnt mean that they couldn't compete with 34 million filling in 19 spots if the other spots are filled by Cain, CC, Lincecum etc. And you already have CF filled, LF filled in Lewis, a middle infielder in Burriss, a catcher in Posey, a 1B/3B in Sandoval, and a 1B in Villalona, and a couple of huge upside pitchers in Bumgarner and Alderson. I think if the Giants added CC they could absolutely compete in 09.

"way to be an extremest. the fans expect you to play to the back of your baseball card. do that continually, youre loved. dont do it continually, you get booed."

In other words the fans are morons. A-Rod hits 35 HR's and posts a 900 OPS? He stinks, get him out. Carlos Beltran gives you a .275/.375/.500 line and steals 20 bases while giving you elite CF defense? Forget him, lets boo his ass, who needs him? Johan Santana pitches to a 3.12 era in his first month as a Met? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NY fans are stupid. Period. Not all of them, but most of them are just stupid bandwagon fans. It is what it is. You can put up 10 straight years of all star production, but one injury plagued down season and the idiots want you gone. Or, in A-Rods case you can put up OPS+ of 131, 174, 134, 177, and 150 5 years in a row and people still complain about you and booo you mercilessly. If those aren't idiots, then I don't know what the criteria of being an idiot is these days.

"You can't tell me you can fill out 19 roster spots with $34m and be a contender. "

"Yeah seriously. It's not like the Marlins have been doing exactly that for over a decade or anything like that."

If the Mets and Phillies don't watch out, they could both fall behind the marlins next year like they came close this season also.

Mets need to find a few more BP arms along with a closer and Phillies need Burrell (whom wants to come back) and another bat to take the place of Utley for 1/2 next season and they are wasting time chasing CC?? He's either going out West, or to NY anyway, if they want a starter, just make a pitch for Lowe, or 1 of the walking wounded (Sheets or Penny) and get that done, then find a bat, or they are going to have a rough time repeating.

"Keep in mind that every team is afraid of the Yankees this offseason."

Really? Unless you mean they are afraid the Yankees will finish in last place. I don't believe any team feels threatened by them.

Red Sox Dynasty

Dont be scared. Aging i dont think is a problem. There losing Abreu, lost Moose, and lost Giambi. Thats some of their older guys. Sure they have old guys but they got alot of young guys too. The Red Sox will make the playoffs but dont expect too much. Bay is a nice player but he aint going to hit .350 all year. Lester is good.
Beckett is overated. As a red sox fan you shouldnt be talking about overpaying.

Hey Mr. Dierkes, I thought this website was fanboy-free zone...

for once, I wished there was one

I have a feeling that the offer will stay. Just like how the Yankees wound't bring back A-Rod if he opted out of his contract two years ago...

Here comes this guy with dead line again.

"The Red Sox will make the playoffs but dont expect too much. Bay is a nice player but he aint going to hit .350 all year. Lester is good.
Beckett is overated. As a red sox fan you shouldnt be talking about overpaying."

Since when is Beckett overrated? Untill this year he's been an ace in the postseason. He's got an World Series MVP and ALCS MVP to show for it. If you want to talk overrated then you better talk about pitchers like....Chien-Ming-Wang. You know, the guy who can't buy an out in the postseason.

Which son is the crazier of the two that likes to talk too much? Hank, right?

I think CC is trying to see what other offers come up but if nobody offers anything close, I think the money is too much to pass up. But I understand the Yankees side in that they just offered potentially the biggest contract to a pitcher and he isn't responding.

I think its also a statement like "Hey, if you don't want the money, let us know so we can spread it across Lowe and Burnett".

".Chien-Ming-Wang. You know, the guy who can't buy an out in the postseason."

THAT Chien Ming Wang who had a solid start vs Angels in 2005 ALDS and the only Yankee win in 2006 ALDS?

Beckett truly WAS a playoff warrior in 2008 also!

I'm not sure if 04 was exaggerating. Of coarse not everyone would like to play for the Yankees, some of the following include those who
-like to play close to home (who live far from NY).
- Doesn't like being pressured under the media.
-Doesn't like the big "city life" and prefers a smaller city.
But yes 04 is right that money does talk and most, if not all, players like to play on competitive team. C.C. is very likely to sign with he Yankees, its a no-brainer. It will be very difficult for C.C. to to turn down this offer. And yes MyBloodRunsPinstriped, I believe 04 is a Red Sox fan.. who i respect for his acknowledgment of the Yankee's fame/infamy.
If C.C. comes here for the money then you can't say he doesn't want to play for the Yanks because playing for Yanks is playing for the money, which is what business is about, and playing for a team with epic history. Playing for the Yankees may not be C.C.'s first choice, money aside, but I would imagine that if he were to get the same offer form all teams, I think the Yankees would be up there.
Contradicting many others opinions, I think that Hal's ultimatum was smart. Sure mostly likely it won't work, but what most people don't realize is that this is 'no risk high reward'. Worst case, yanks don't get that early signing to pursue other agents knowing C.C. is already in the bag(best case is vice-versa).
Lastly, Beckett isn't over-rated hes gotten the credit he deserves. and yes Lester is good but after last year, I wouldn't put a bland adjective in front of his name. I'll go ahead and call him a stud.

The Yanks will get CC. I am worried about them signing Lowe or Burnett for 5 years. Burnett is fragile and only pitches well in walk years or when he has the ability to opt out. I like Lowe and know he can handle New York, but he is too old to be asking for 5 years. Boras is crazy with the 16 mil plus a season he wants for his client also. Pettitte got that amount the past 2 years, but that was on single year contracts and Pettitte won't be signed for that much this year.

Mark Teixeira will never be close to the player A-Rod is.

nrmax88, johns was only saying that Teixeira is more of a clutch player than A-Rod which is absolutely true!

I don't know that that's necessarily true. I realize that Arod is infamous for not hitting in the postseason but Teixeira isn't exactly lighting it up in that category either. Yes his average was good but in 4 games against Boston he knocked in exactly one run.

I know I'll be in the minority here but I'm not a fan of Teixiera. While he was with Atlanta he never did good against us (Phils) and I don't think he's worth THAT much. Is he a good solid player, yes, very good yes, but not CORNERSTONE GREAT.

"And yeah, Towers pretty much has to trade Peavy, he couldn't even get one top prospect from Atlanta"
Posted by: nrmax88 | November 21, 2008 at 02:11 AM "

Last I checked, Yunel Escobar wasn't a top prospect, he is 26yr's old with 830 career MLB at bats posting a .302 AVG with a .373 OBP.

He is also under team control for 4 more years and not arbitration eligible for another year.

Escobar is also a SS, which would allow Towers to deal away Greene and his bad contract.

If Towers was interested in Yankee prospects he could have them, but instead Towers tried to pry a talented, proven and young SS away; which in turn would free up even more money by allowing him to move Greene.

Towers will get his bounty and it will either be a young quality SS or a package of 3 or so prospects.

"I don't know that that's necessarily true. I realize that Arod is infamous for not hitting in the postseason but Teixeira isn't exactly lighting it up in that category either. Yes his average was good but in 4 games against Boston he knocked in exactly one run."

Tex kept the Angels alive by getting on base, just because his teamates above him were not onbase for him to drive in was not his fault. he performed better than his teamates like hunter whom appeared to be day dreaming throughout the entire series. The ALCS could have ended in 6 games without tex getting his clutch walks and singles, he ground out virtually all of his AB's. When was the last time A-Rod did that in his MANY post season appearances, vs this 1st time for tex??

If Peavy was going to Atlanta, it would have been done. Wren thinks he can "pull a fast one" over on Kevin Towers. He is playing bluff with the wrong GM and leaving the Braves wide open to fighting it out with the nationals for last place now, a battle the Braves just might lose..

The Giants should go after Sabathia. It would give them the best 1-2 in baseball with CC and Lincecum. Also, it would give tham more room to trade away another starter like Sanchez. I love Sanchez but if we could trade him for a big bat I would be all for it. If the Giants did this they would dominate in the weak NL West.